


It's Not Over Yet!

by EvilOtter



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-05-05 11:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14617014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilOtter/pseuds/EvilOtter
Summary: Newt is called back to New York to deal with yet another issue.





	1. No Me!

**Author's Note:**

> All recognizable characters, events and locations belong to J.K. Rowling.
> 
> This story was originally posted under the same title and the pen name Evil Otter on Harrypotterfanfiction.com which closed on 4-28-18.

The sweltering atmosphere of the classroom was hardly conducive to learning but the children in Phillip Murphy’s classroom struggled through the day. Not a sound was made save the scratching of pens against the paper on the desks before them as the grammar lesson revealed itself on the pages of their books. They did not even dare to look up at the clock, which was the only thing making a sound in the room, for fear of attracting the attention of their teacher. They all knew the penalty of this merest of infractions and none of them relished it.

A piece of chalk suddenly struck the wall of the room causing a small but noticeable disturbance in the otherwise silent classroom. Eyes lifted from the grammar lesson in search of the source of the interruption and children flinched as the tall teacher stalked up from the back of the room to stop and look down at the now inert missile.

Towering over his ten and eleven year old students, the thin and balding teacher examined the mark of the impact on the wall and then bent down to pick up the offending object. Clearly it had come from the tray that lined the bottom of the blackboard at the front of the room as one of the three carefully spaced pieces of chalk was now missing. He turned to cast a disapproving glare at the children under his charge.

“Who took this piece of chalk from the tray and threw it?”

When no response came, he stepped to the front of the room to open a desk drawer and retrieve a wooden ruler. Laying the damaged piece of chalk aside he grasped the ruler firmly with one hand while using it to slap the palm of his other hand.

“I shall ask you all one more time. Who took this chalk and then threw it?”

Once again there was no response and students cringed as they watched the teacher’s normally pale complexion gradually become ruddy as his anger grew.

“This is the last time that I am going to ask and this time I expect an answer. Who took that piece of chalk from the chalk tray and then threw it?”

Phillip Murphy looked around the room and then his eyes fell upon a large boy who sat in one of the desks at the front of the room. Surely he was the culprit as he had performed such acts in the past and had felt more than one slaps across the palm of his hand from the ruler. The teacher crossed the room to stand in front of the desk of the child and then looked down at him.

“Alfred Kinkade, did you take the chalk and then throw it at the wall? Tell me the truth and it will go easier on you.”

“No, sir, Mister Murphy, I did not throw it.”

“Did you take it?”

“No, sir, I did not.”

The teacher, angry beyond belief at the insolence of the boy, bent down to look into the eyes of the normally defiant child. He was about to pull the boy from his seat to deliver punishment when a second piece of chalk hit the blackboard.

Enraged by this apparent conspiracy, Phillip Murphy straightened to glare at his class.

“Who is responsible for this outrage?”

“ _No me_!” came a nearly silent but quite distinct response.

All eyes turned in the direction of the voice, but their owners were startled to see nothing visible.

“I have had enough of these games! Tell me who is responsible for this disobedience or you shall all be punished!”

“ _No me_!”

Once again the tiny voice had responded to the query of the thoroughly angry adult, but this time it had come from a different location.

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No me_!”

Confused, and becoming alarmed by the voices that seemed to come from different places in the room, Phillip Murphy turned just as a large globe flew through the air. Just managing to dodge the object, the teacher could only watch in disbelief as it slammed against the wall.

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No me_!”

Abruptly items began to fly off of desks and children began to scream as they were showered with ink from shattered wells and thrown books. Rising as one, the frightened students rushed for the classroom door that had begun to swing open and shut by itself as pandemonium filled the room. Over the screams of the panicked children and teacher one voice; or maybe it was many, boomed for all to hear.

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No me_! _NO ME_!”

As they managed to get clear of the room and the mayhem within, the children from Phillip Murphy’s class hurried out into a suddenly busy corridor. There they joined the occupants of other rooms who were also fleeing their unseen tormentors.

Above the terrified children, lights swung madly as if they were playground swings being ridden by wanton occupants. The crowd of nearly crazed children and adults rushed out of the building, all pretense of discipline gone, as they scattered to run as far away from the structure as they could.

In the now deserted building abandoned classrooms were littered with forgotten books and pieces of paper. Ink slowly dripped off of the surfaces that it had landed on to create a strange sort of artwork on the walls and floors. With all of the normal occupants gone, there was very little noise in the building after the last door had swung shut, but throughout the forlorn structure a sound began to build until it had reached a crescendo.

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No me_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**!”

Not far from the school and old man ignored the sudden rush of children as they ran past him. The fact that it was not yet time for school to be dismissed never registered in his mind, he was more interested in the building that he was approaching. A hand-painted sign that had hung for years and was in need of repainting read simply “Mick’s.” He pulled the door open and then shuffled into the dim interior of the structure. Safe from the mid-day sun, his aged eyes took in the familiar scene before him. A blue haze drifted in the air as he made his way to the bar and waited for the barkeep to approach. The portly figure that moved towards him frowned as he remembered that the old man had a sizable tab that was owed. He stopped before the codger and then looked him up and down before speaking.

“What do ye want?”

“Whiskey,” the old man grumbled. What else did the man expect him to order in a tavern, flowers?

“Whiskey I can do, but not before ye settle yer tab.”

“Tab?" William questioned, after hoping that the barkeep had forgotten what he owed from past visits. "What tab do I owe ye, Mick?”

“Ye owe me two dollars and I will take not one cent less!”

Grumbling at the better memory of the younger man, the old man plunged his hand into the pocket of his worn jacket and pulled out some crumpled notes. The eyes of the barkeep widened as he realized that the old man had revealed over ten dollars. That amount constituted a kingly sum in this part of Brooklyn, which had not shared in the good times that the rest of the borough had.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” Mick exclaimed. “What are ye doing with all o that?”

“I finally got me pay! The old tightwad finally came across with it this morning after I threatened to take my pay out in trade. Well, ye can imagine how that went over and the old coot was more than willing to part with the cash.”

“I would not be flashing that bit about. There are plenty that would cut your throat for less than that in this town.”

William nodded as he pulled the bills from the wad and then pushed them across the counter to the waiting hand of Mick. A moment later, William was shuffling from the bar towards his favorite table with a glass filled with dark amber liquid in his hand.

As he took his seat, he paused to look around the room. In the corner of the crowded room a group of young ruffians was involved in a game of cards and, from the sound of it, things were getting volatile. An abrupt noise as a winning hand was slammed down onto the table was answered by curses from losing players. Then there was the sound of coins being raked across the worn wood that announced the fact that the victor was collecting his bounty. More muffled curses came from the losers, but these were largely drowned out by a call from the winner for more whiskey.

Abruptly a glass flew through the air to shatter against several bottles on the shelves behind the bar. This single action brought a roar of outrage from Mick as he watched liquid income begin to fall to the floor without chance of compensation.

“Who threw that damned glass? Speak now and then leave before I start bustin heads! Ye can stop and pay the five dollars that ye owe me before the sunlight hits yer arse! Now, who threw that damned glass?”

Instead of the rude remark that he expected in response Mick was stunned to see all of his patrons staring at one of the battered tables. The table was vacant and normally would have been ignored, but the fact that it was hovering nearly five feet above the floor brought the scene away from the normal.

William watched with incredulous eyes as glasses and bottles began to lift from their resting places as if by invisible hands. All of this was frightening enough to the old man, who rapidly found long forgotten religion as he crossed himself, but when the glass items began to hurtle across the room he decided that perhaps he needed protection of a different source. Downing his drink with one gulp he rose and hurried for the door just as the glass that he had emptied rose from the table and crashed into the wall beside him. The noise of this punctuation brought the other occupants of the tavern out of their state and they began to rush for the door that William had just used to escape.

As they ran through for the door bottles, glasses, chairs and other items pelted them and only William would escape unscathed. As they ran for their lives all were aware of a voice that chanted the same thing over and over again.

“ _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**!”

Mick’s tavern was soon just as deserted as the school was and also just as devastated. As its former occupants ran from the scene many decided that perhaps it was time to stop drinking and frequenting places such as Mick’s.

Far from the scene, in the Ministry’s Department For the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the word went out that help was needed in Brooklyn.

“Let Scamander know that his work is not done in America.”


	2. A Sense of Urgency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt returns to New York to attempt to determine what is causing the rash of disturbances.

The Muggle port officer before him seemed to stare through him as he stepped to the front of the queue and Newt Scamander was quite relieved that he had made certain that the battered case that he carried would withstand any inspection. He had remembered to flip the small brass switch to Muggleworthy and knew what the man would find when he pawed through the contents with his ham-sized hands. Nothing!

The pig-like eyes of the man narrowed as he examined Newts paperwork and the auburn walrus mustache under his nose twitched as though he was preparing to sneeze. But no explosion came from his face and Newt was able to breathe a sigh of relief that at least he was to be spared this inconvenience.

“Is this your first time in America, Mister Scamander?”

“Uh, no, sir, I have visited your country before.”

“British?”

Newt knew that he was rolling his eyes at the man’s statement of the obvious given the facts that he had examined Newt’s paperwork and also heard his accent and he tried to hide his annoyance, but failed miserably.

“Is something troubling you, Mister Scamander?”

“No, sir, nothing is troubling me in the least.”

The stout man snorted and then turned his attention to the case that Newt had placed on the table between them. He turned it so that he could unlatch it and then abruptly stopped to look at the traveler before him.

“What is the nature of your visit to America, Mister Scamander?”

“I am here on business.”

“What would that business be, Mister Scamander?”

Newt could sense the annoyance of the people behind him as the official continued to question him. The line beside them was proceeding at a rather fast clip as the obviously bored officer at that station gave the paperwork and luggage a perfunctory glance before waving the new arrival through. Obviously, this man was efficient at what he did and was relishing the shiny badge on his uniform that gave him the right to make the lives of new arrivals difficult.

“Mister Scamander, what would the nature of your business in our country be?”

Newt shook himself out of his daydream and then answered the question.

“I work with exotic animals.”

“What sort of exotic animals?”

“I work with the sort that you might find in a zoo.”

The man’s face blanched as he looked down at the case that he was about to open. Obviously he was wondering if some monstrosity was going to jump out of the case at him like some insane jack-in-the box to sink fangs into his flesh.

“Mister Scamander, I have to ask this, would there be any of these exotic animals in this case that I am about to open?”

“Are you daft? Those things can be dangerous. Of course there are not any of them in my case. Do you take me for a mad man?”

The man was nearly trembling and was bathed in a cold sweat as he thumbed the latches and then carefully lifted the lid of the case. Only when mundane articles that a traveler might pack were revealed did he begin to breathe normally once again. He gave the items a careful poke and refused to dig beneath the surface as he seemed to become more like his fellow officer. The lid was soon closed and latched once again as the case was spun so that its handle faced Newt once again. He watched as his paperwork was stamped and then pushed back towards him.

“Thank you, Mister Scamander, I hope that your business in our country is successful.”

“As do I,” Newt responded as he pushed his papers into his breast pocket and then grasped the case handle to pull it off of the table. He nodded to the official once again and then walked past the table and out into the port building to make his way onto the streets of New York.

A small boy met him at the door with a Muggle newspaper in his hand.

“Newspaper, sir?”

“How much?”

“Five cents, sir.”

Newt reached into his pocket and grasped a Muggle coin. He had no idea what the denomination of the item was, but obviously it was larger than what had been requested of him for the eyes of the boy widened as it was handed to him.

“Will this cover it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You can keep the change.”

The young boy nearly fell over with disbelief as Newt Scamander walked away with the newspaper and quickly stuffed the coin into his pocket. Nothing like this had ever happened before nor was it likely to happen again, he had never received a gold coin for a paper and been told to keep the change. The money would go a long way for his family. Newt paid him no attention as he glanced down at the paper in his hand and his eyes took in the headlines.

**Mysterious Happenings Plaguing City Blamed on Unknown Hoodlums!**

A story below the headlines announced the strange thefts of green balls of all varieties from all over the city. This story meant nothing to Newt, it was the headline story that held his attention as he walked towards an alley where he could be not be observed. Once he had vanished into the shadows he disappeared with a POP! to reappear in an alley outside the Woolworth Building. He glanced around to be certain that he had not been seen by non-magical eyes and failed to see the vagrant who lay under sheets of newspaper and watched him with rheumy eyes. He hurried out of the alley as the man glanced at the half full bottle next to him for a moment before lifting it and dumping it out on the ground beside him. The man would rise and hurry out of the alley to make his way to one of the institutions that helped down and out folks make something of their lives.

Newt hurried through the revolving door at the front of the building, and it was this revolving door that took him to the entrance of the headquarters of MACUSA.

This entry into the equivalent of the Ministry of Magic was much different than his first. Memories of being arrested by Portpentina Goldstein for “activities which had threatened to expose the existence of the Wizarding World“ to the No-Maj residents of New York flooded his mind and he hoped that this visit would be quite different. This, however, was not to be.

He could still see the letter marked “MOST URGENT” that had appeared in his home only days before. It had told him that an unusual number of strange occurrences had been plaguing the city and that MACUSA suspected that it was the work of magical creatures. It had gone on to state that it was thought that some of the responsible creatures might have escaped from his case and never been re-captured. He knew that this was not true as all of the beasts that had been freed accidently had been accounted for and were now safely contained in their enclosures. Obviously this was something different and it had been handed to him to determine just exactly what was going on before the No-Maj population became aware of the nature of their tormentors.

As he walked through the corridors towards the office that he needed he thought about the large number of magical and fantastic beasts that made their home here in America. Certainly, there was a vast variety of them, which made them worthy of a book of their own. The students at Ilvermorny were quite tired of reading about the beasts that their European counterparts were studying when they had fantastic beasts of their own to consider.

“Newton Scamander!”

He turned at the sound of his name being called and brightened when he spotted a wizard that he had made acquaintances with on his previous trip. The problem was, he couldn’t remember the name of the man and that was certain to produce an awkward moment.

“How are you doing, Newt? I imagined that they would call upon you to get to the bottom of this mess before the No-Majs become wise to whatever is going on.”

“Well, I have never thought them as dull as most do.”

“Quite, well anyway, it is good to see you again.”

The pair shook hands and Newt was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the departing wizard spoke to him once again.

“The name is William Shackleton, you absent minded wonder.”

Newt managed a weak smile and then hurried on toward the MACUSA equivalent to the Ministry’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. A glance up at the clock that indicated the magical threat level revealed that the office he sought was operating at a level of four. This meant that an emergency was underway and he had arrived none too soon.

He arrived at the door that he sought just as a loud squawk sounded from beyond it and he cautiously opened the door. A glance inside revealed a large green bird which resembled an ostrich but had a duck-like bill. The human-like eyes of the creature regarded him with curiosity and he carefully entered the room to stand before it as a witch next to it spoke to it in a manner normally reserved for a obstinate child.

“Ralph, I am going to tell you one last time to sit down and be quiet! You do not want to disturb these very kind people who are trying to help you, do you?”

Newt looked at the beast before him and then at the witch that had spoken. Obviously there was much more going on here than he realized. He looked around the room and was astounded to see a number of fantastic beasts that he was unfamiliar with. Some he thought that he recognized from books that he had read, but others were totally alien to him and he wondered where they had originated. Certainly, the large bird was the most curious of the lot and he carefully made his way to the desk of a harried looking witch who regarded him with exasperation.

“What sort of beast do you have that you cannot control and is it registered?”

Newt paused for a moment at the question as a wizard stepped out of a room with a large serpent like creature. The snake was unusual in that it had brilliant orange fur and wings, a collar kept it close to the wizard despite the efforts of the creature to get free. A tug at his coat brought his attention to the goblin that was attempting to bring his thoughts back to the witch.

“Oi, shes talkin to ye, she is!”

“Oh, I apologize, Madam, I have just never seen some of these beasts. Is this the office for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?”

“Well, it certainly is not the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! What do you need?”

“I am Newt Scamander and I was summoned by this office to deal with whatever is going on in New York.”

“You are Newt Scamander? I thought that perhaps you were the latest in a line of cage cleaners. We cannot keep them, they take one look at the size of the messes that they have to clean and run out the door. Come with me then, Mister Scamander.”

The witch led Newt out of the crowded room just as the door opened and a very young witch, certainly no more than eleven or twelve years old, led a large gorilla-like beast which continuously changed color in. Newt could not keep his eyes off of the beasts and nearly walked over the witch that had suddenly stopped to open a door for him.

“It is a very good thing that you came on a slow day! Normally there would be twice the traffic as what you saw today.”

“What was that thing that the young girl led in?”

“I take it that you have never seen a Rocky Mountain Chameleape. They are quite common and I would have assumed that an esteemed Magizoologist would be familiar with them.”

“I do not believe that I have ever even seen a reference to them in any of the books that I have read. And, what was that snake with wings and fur?”

“That is a juvenile Arctic Snow Serpent!”

“Juvenile? That thing was nearly ten feet long.”

“The adults are nearly two hundred feet long and pure white. That one was hatched only three days ago. They are quite docile as hatchlings, but very aggressive once they reach mating age.”

“And the green bird, what was that?”

“That, Mister Scamander, is the result of an unfortunate accident. Be careful what you put into a potion or you might wind up looking like that. His wife does not know whether to take him to St. Mungo’s or register him as a beast. Frankly, given his appearance as a wizard, if I were his wife I would register him.”

The door before them opened and Newt found himself being ushered in to a large office. He stepped through the portal and was not surprised when the door closed behind him. A large desk sat in the center of the room and the wizard behind it rose to meet him as he approached.

“You have to be Newton Scamander, the Magizoologist that saved our world from discovery by the No-Majs.”

“I am Newt Scamander,“ he responded as he shook the offered hand, “and who might you be, sir?”

“I am Bartholomew Stewart-Craig, Head of this department.”

“I see then perhaps you can tell me why I am here in New York once again. All of the escaped beasts are accounted for and I am a bit confused as to why my presence was demanded.”

“We have a bit of a situation and you were highly recommended to us.”

“Go on.”

“Over the last several days a number of occurrences have troubled the city. These have been obvious magical occurrences and, for right now, have been explained by the No-Maj government as the work of hoodlums or occult manifestations. But they put us in a tight spot for, once the No-Maj population determines their origin, the existence of our world will be revealed.”

“Perhaps it is the work of errant young witches and wizards who are having a bit of fun with the Muggles. It has happened before, I assure you of that.”

“I believe you that it has, but the No-Maj government is becoming suspicious and the Second Salemers are beginning to pry where they ought not. It is only a matter of time before our worlds collide and it will not be good for anyone when they do.”

“What do you want of me?”

“I need you to determine what is going on and who or what is responsible.”

“And if I do?”

“If it is a magical beast I need you to capture it and get it into containment.”

“And if it is the work of witches or wizards unknown? What do I do then? I deal with fantastic beasts not witches or wizards who have decided not to follow our laws.”

“Then then Aurors shall get involved.”

“I understand.”

“No, Mister Scamander, you do not. This must be done with all speed and focus by the end of the month.”

“But that is only twelve days away! What is the urgency?”

“Because, Mister Scamander, in thirteen days the Second Salemers shall petition the No-Maj president to order an investigation into the situation and that could very well expose our world.”

“But surely we have people within their government who can slow this process down.”

“We do, but they can only hold off the inevitable for so long. There is simply no way to obliviate their entire world! We would have done that already if it were possible.”

“Then I should imagine that I must get started immediately.”

“You have a gift for stating the obvious, Mister Scamander.”

“How many incidents have there been?”

“There have been nearly twenty, and they are all hauntingly similar. The first was at a school not far from here. Quite understandably the children and staff are reluctant to return to the building. The next was at a rather seedy pub down near the docks, that one was easily explained away by its location but the next is not.”

“Where did that one happen?”

“The New York Stock Exchange Building, it interrupted a day of trading and nearly brought the system to a complete standstill.”

“I shall need a map with the occurrence locations marked on it.”

“It is already prepared and, should there be any more occurrences, they will instantly appear on your map.”

“I read something about green balls vanishing all over the city, is that connected to the occurrences?”

“I have no idea, Mister Scamander, but what I do know is this, you must get to the bottom of this before the end of the month. This situation must be treated with a sense of urgency and as quietly as possible, we do not need anything else to jeopardize our world.”

“Then I suppose that I shall start at the place where this began.”

“Good luck and Merlin speed, Mister Scamander.”

Newt turned and left the office to walk back through the crowded outer office where more fantastic beasts had been gathered. The witch behind the desk held out a folded piece of parchment to him and he accepted it before leaving the noisy environment. He gave the beasts a last longing look before he closed the door behind him and walked back out onto the concourse to make his way to the room that he knew was waiting for him. This was going to be a much different trip than the last and only Merlin knew what would happen should he fail in his mission.

Far from the headquarters of MACUSA, a shopkeeper glanced at the jar on his counter that held the hard round candies that children were so fond of. He looked away from it and then immediately back as he noticed that something was quite different about it. Approaching it slowly, he was astounded to see the level in the jar severely depleted. Anger filled him as he remembered that he had added to the contents only that morning, but just the same it was now partially empty. It did present a rather strange sight as he realized that only one color of hard candy ball was missing. There was not a green one to be seen anywhere in the jar and he wondered why any thief would take just those items.

He was looking at the jar and turning it around to examine it from all sides when he became aware of a small voice that was repeating the same thing over and over again. What was frightening was the fact that the volume of the voice was increasing as though it was more than one person speaking.

“ _No Me_! _No me_! _NO Me_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

It was at this point that the light fixtures above began to swing wildly and items began to fly off of the shelves as though thrown by wanton children. The shopkeeper and his few customers hurried from the building to stand in the streets and look back into the store that they had just vacated. Inside the structure a virtual tornado of activity was happening as the air was filled with flying objects of all descriptions. Above it all, a thunderous voice repeated the same phrase over and over again.

“ _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

On the map that Newton Scamander carried, another building was noted and on the clock in the great hall of MACUSA the hands advanced to the next level.

**Severe Unexplained Activity**


	3. Bounces and Sparks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the mystery builds as Newt investigates the disturbances and more sinister things begin to occur.

The small, non-descript dog , one that most in the city would call a mongrel, watched intently as the small green ball rolled down the center of the street. The mind of the animal never registered the fact that the ball was unattended, in fact, other than the dog there was no one to witness the transit of the object. Intrigued by the strange sight, the dog followed the ball as it had for nearly two blocks and whined when the ball came to a halt.

The animal stepped closer to the ball and barked sharply at it as the item lay inert in the center of the street. While the dog tried to urge the ball to move on a pair of men, neither of whom were much cleaner than their filthy clothing walked out of an alley while they talked excitedly. The larger of the two pulled a wad of dirty bills out of his pocket before beginning to count the currency that had so recently come into their possession.

“How much did we get from him, Louie?”

The smaller man, who had just spoken to his companion, was fairly dancing in the street while his partner examined the money that, until recently, had belonged to the man who now lay unconscious in an alley. The victim had made the error of flashing the cash and now was without it, although he was in possession of a lump on his head.

Louie, the larger of the two, fumbled through the counting of their misbegotten gains and finally arrived at a solution.

“We gots us sixteen dollars!”

“I wants my share, Louie! It was me what spotted him showin it off to everyone.”

Louie grumbled for a moment about the demand. He had been the one to earn the cash and had the bruises and scrapes to prove it, for the previous owner of the cash had not surrendered easily. But it was also true that had his companion, who also happened to be his brother, not spotted the reckless display of the money they would still be penniless.

Begrudgingly, Louie began a slow one for you, one for me division of the money. Unfortunately for him, his brother was a little swifter at thought and the smaller man ended up on top when a bill of a larger denomination ended up being deposited into his pile unnoticed. They would walk away from the deal, one believing that he had done better than his brother while the other knew the truth.

The sharp yapping of the dog finally got their attention and they looked curiously at the ragged animal.

“What do you figure is wrong with him, Louie?”

“I dunno, Fred, the crazy mutt is barking at that ball.”

“Is he gonna eat it?”

“I dunno about that, but I might eat him! Dog is good if you cook it right. I learned that from the Frenchies during the war.”

“You ate dogs?”

“Why not? No different than hacking up a dead horse for meat and he is still alive and fresh. Won’t find any maggots in him!”

“Some fresh meat would be nice,” Fred responded wistfully.

The pair divided and began to approach the animal in such a manner as to trap it between them. The capture would have and should have been easy except for the ball, which began to bounce wildly on its own before emitting a series of bright sparks. The object of their hunt and intended meal suddenly stopped barking and stood frozen in place, which gave the brothers hope, until a strange and terrible transformation took place.

The dog, motionless and quiet, began to dissolve before their eyes and soon only a skeleton remained. Then, that too vanished leaving only an empty space where the creature had been moments before.

“Where did he go, Louie? Did you see that?”

Fred glanced at his brother and was stunned to see the man frozen in place, just as the dog had been, then he too vanished into thin air after undergoing the strange and terrifying change. Only the metal buckle from his belt remained to clatter to the street along with the few coins that had been in his pocket.

Terrified out of his mind by the sight Fred turned to run from the scene, or at least he tried to. He found himself unable to move or speak. He could only watch the bones of his outstretched hand appear as the filthy flesh vanished and then the bones were gone too. Then he could see no more and only a few coins lying on the street where they had dropped betrayed the fact that he had ever been there.

The bouncing and sparking ended, the ball began to roll away from the scene and soon vanished into the shadows of the alley that the luckless brothers had emerged from. As it vanished into the darkness a strange small voice repeated the same phrase over and over again.

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

Several blocks away Newt had entered the now silent school building and found it quite deserted and unremarkable. The one police officer who had been assigned to patrol the structure lay quietly in one corner of a classroom courtesy of a sleep charm from Newt’s wand. A second charm ensured that the man would not remember the presence of the visitor and Newt knew that he had all of the time that he needed to examine the scene.

He stepped into the classroom so recently vacated by the terrified students of Phillip Murphy and found the location quite mundane. Only scattered papers, books and splattered ink provided any variation in the sameness of all of the rooms and this one was no different. He glanced up at the still light fixtures and saw nothing that would explain the happenings here. Not even his wand was providing any information and this frustrated the Magizoologist.

If this was indeed the work of a magical creature that he had never encountered before it certainly had left no evidence behind. This was unlike any scene that he had ever encountered before and he was becoming inclined to believe that he was looking at the result of the mischief of wanton young witches or wizards. Surely either MACUSA or the Ministry of Magic would have detected this if it had happened but those organizations were just as baffled as he.

It certainly did not make him anymore confident knowing that he had to work under a deadline. If this was the work of an unknown beast it could take months if not years to put all of the pieces of this puzzle together. The possibility of the Muggles becoming involved certainly didn’t help him; they would only muddy the proverbial waters with their stumbling about. What he knew he needed was information from some of the witnesses to the events and he understood how dangerous a prospect that was.

He could just imagine approaching a non-magical child and asking him or her about what happened at their school. They would no doubt be frightened of the strange man who was questioning them and give inaccurate information to boot. There had to be some way to get the clues that he needed and he was pondering this problem when another presented itself.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Newt turned to see a rather large man in a well-tailored suit regarding him with suspicion. A gold badge adorned his breast and the rather large gun in his hand betrayed the fact that this was a police officer.

“I am quite sorry, sir. I was just wandering by and noticed a door open downstairs. I knew that this building was vacant and was afraid that thieves had managed to get in.”

“That answers the why, now, who are you?”

“Oh, I apologize, I can be quite vacant minded, I am Newton Scamander.”

“Well, Mister Scamander, what have you done with the officer that was assigned to this structure because I do not believe a word of your excuse?”

“I have seen no one other than you here, sir.”

“Then you will not mind walking with me until we find him, will you?”

“Of course I will not, officer.”

“It happens to be detective, Mister Scamander and, should we find that some harm has come to my officer I shall have no problem with taking you and your accent to the precinct house.”

“I assure you, sir, that I have done nothing with or to your officer.”

“Then why do we not have a look around, Mister Scamander? You had better hope that we find him alive and well or there shall be unpleasant consequences for you. But, before we do I would like you to open your coat and let me see what you have in there.”

Newt stopped short, the smile frozen on his face, as the detective stepped closer to him and then placed on hand on his shoulder to spin him around. The Magizoologist found himself suddenly facing an ink splattered wall as the man roughly checked him for weapons. The search stopped abruptly when the hand of the man encountered the wand that was carefully secreted in an interior pocket.

“And what do we have here, Mister Scamander?”

Newt could only watch as his wand was drawn into the light and his mind raced as he tried to think of a logical excuse for having a wand in a city vehemently searching for those who were practicing “dark” arts.

“Is this a magic wand, Mister Scamander?”

“Magic wand? Are you daft, man, there is no such thing as magic, everyone knows that!”

“Then what is it?”

“Why, that is the pointer that I use when I present lessons to my students. I must have forgotten to leave it in my classroom when I hurried to leave London to get here.”

“A pointer, you say! Then there is no harm in me doing this,” the portly detective said as he waved the wand towards a wall.

Both of the men in that room watched the wall, one with anticipation and the other with apprehension. Whatever they expected to happen, one was disappointed while the other felt relief. Looking down at the wand, the detective frowned and then dropped it onto the floor of the room before placing his hand back on Newt’s shoulder to navigate him out of the room. Newt could only chance a quick glance back at it before they left the room behind to search for the missing police officer.

The search did not take long as the missing man appeared out of a lavatory and stopped as he noticed his detective and a stranger that he could not recall ever seeing before.

“Caldwell! Where have you been all this time?”

“I have just been patrolling the building and grounds, detective. I stepped into that lavatory for a moment and then saw you when I came out. Who is he?”

“He says that his name is Newton Scamander and that he is a teacher. He also says that he only came into the building to investigate a door that was hanging open, that he did not want anyone in here stealing.”

“Well, there has been no one else here but me all this time. That is, until you and he arrived.”

“And you are well and unharmed?”

“Why would I not be?”

“I told you that I had done nothing with your officer. We must have missed each other when he was out on the grounds and I entered the building. I swear to you sir that I meant nothing sinister, I was only concerned.”

“Oh, alright, you can go, Mister Scamander, but do not let me catch you poking around in places that you should leave be.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

“I just wanted to inquire if I had your permission to retrieve my pointer from that classroom where it was left.”

“Yes, I will accompany you to retrieve it and then I want you out of this building.”

“Thank you, detective.”

Newt’s heart finally settled back into a normal beat as he was led back to the classroom where his wand still lay amid the debris that covered the floor of the room. He picked it up and tucked it back into his coat before allowing himself to be lead back out of the building. The slamming of the door behind him announced that he was not welcome in the structure, but he already had found what he had been looking for. Whatever had created the disturbance was no longer in the building and the Muggle or No-Maj (as the American magical folk called them) police had no clue about what they were dealing with.

He was grateful and relieved that the officer that he had dealt with first had regained consciousness before the detective had encountered him. Obviously the man had been lying to the detective as no good would have come for him if he had admitted to waking up from a nap, even if it had been a magically induced one, when he should have been patrolling the building.

Newt left the school grounds knowing that the detective was probably watching him from one of the windows and couldn’t have known what was happening as he disappeared down one of the sidewalks.

Detective John Campbell was watching the stranger from one of the windows and cursing himself for allowing the man to walk away. What should have happened was a trip to the precinct and a fine for trespassing, but he had let the man go and that was that. He wouldn’t be so generous if he encountered Mister Newton Scamander in the building again. A strange feeling came over the detective and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise before he even turned around. When he did turn around a strange sight met his eyes.

A small green ball sparked frantically as it bounced up and down in the center of the corridor outside the room and his officer was standing over it. It was almost as if the man was frozen in place and Campbell called to the man to get back to his patrol, but the officer seemed to ignore him and stood where he was. Angered by the seeming defiance, Campbell walked away from the window to approach the officer just in time to see a horrifying sight as the flesh of the man vanished and he was looking at a skeleton that was fading as well.

Detective John Campbell tried to run from the grisly scene as the gun and other metal objects that the man had been carrying hit the floor with a thump, but found that he could not move in the least. His muscles refused his every command and he realized that he too was being transformed while the ball continued its activities. He never heard the thump that his service weapon made as it hit the floor and the sounds made by his other belongings also went unnoticed by the man who was vanishing into thin air. A moment later the ball stopped sparking and bouncing before rolling down the corridor and the stairs and then vanishing down into the shadowy confines of the basement.

Unobserved, the ball rolled to a grate in the floor of the cavernous space and dropped down through it to follow a path through the pipes until it reached a larger opening where many other balls like it rested quietly. A low buzz filled the air of the chamber, interrupted only by the wounds of dripping water, as the balls pulsated and glowed. Gradually, if anyone had been there to hear the noise, the buzz became discernible words that were repeated again and again.

“ _No Me_! _No ME_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

As an eerie laughter coming from hundreds of throats echoed through the labyrinth of pipes as hundreds of red eyes filled the space above the balls in the chamber, eyes that stared unblinking down onto the pulsating mass and Newton Scamander had no more idea of the danger that was growing under the streets than anyone else in the city. The laughter ended, a sound of many dozens of feet scuttling away from the pulsating nest and small indistinct forms would have been visible had anybody been there to see them. Perhaps it was best that no witnesses were present.

Newt Scamander had hurried away from the school as he made his way to Mick’s. The bar stood vacant, the front door ajar and no one dared to enter the structure. Word had gotten around to the populace about the “haunting” of the business and no one wanted to chance a visit. Facing the loss of his livelihood Mick had collected everything of value from the bar before vacating the building himself, selling everything he owned and buying a steamship ticket back to Ireland. The chance to speak to him was gone and, along with him, any information that he had gone with him.

The Magizoologist carefully stepped past the door and into the empty room that had once been abuzz with light-hearted activity. The remains of the barroom furniture lay smashed on the floor of the room and shattered glass crackled under his feet as he explored carefully. It was in this dark, rather odorous room that he realized that his wand was detecting a residual trace of magic. The tip of the wand began to glow softly and he followed its lead as the glow intensified or waned. He reached a back room and started as he kicked something that rolled into the darkness.

“ _Lumos Maxima!_ ”

Instantly the room was brightly lit and he was able to look about to explore this room that held the most intense amount of trace magic. Try as he might, however, he could see nothing of the object that he had kicked and the magical signature was abruptly absent from the room. He carefully poked around the room and was able to find only a small hole in the floor that resembled a drain. It was here that he was able to find only the slightest residue of magical energy and he understood where the object had gone. It was also here that he began to get an inkling of an understanding of what he faced and he didn’t like it. More to the point, it frightened him.

As he explored the temporarily lit room he realized that someone else had entered the structure and he swiftly doused his wand as several men entered the space.

“I tell you that I saw a light back here,” one voice announced.

“You’re crazy! There is no one but us here.”

“You’re the one that is crazy, because someone was back here with a torch of some sort.”

Newt knew that only moments remained before he was discovered and disapparated just as the first of the men entered his hiding spot. The quartet of men stepped into the space as they searched it using the dim light of the single window to avoid drawing attention. It was at this moment that one of them noticed a dim light on the floor that seemed to sparkle.

“What is that?”

“What is what?” one of the companions of the man who had spoken answered.

“That light over there.”

The man who had noticed the light stepped towards it and bent down to look down into the hole in the floor. His companions, unable to see much, waited with impatience for him to disclose what he had found. When no announcement of his findings came, another of the men stepped forward to look for himself and was surprised to find that his friend was nowhere to be found.

“He’s gone!”

“Who is gone, Sam?”

“Bernard is gone! He was just here looking down into this…”

The voice suddenly stopped and the other men in the room strained their eyes to look at their companions. Seeing nothing, they stepped forward to investigate and found nothing. Their companions were gone. Frightened by the events the pair turned to leave the room and stopped when the door before them slammed shut and resisted their best efforts to leave the room.

In the dark back room of Mick’s the sound of coins hitting the floor was the last sound to echo through the empty structure and no one would emerge into the light again.


	4. Oriental Curiosities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just what is creating the strange happenings and disappearances in the city and what is in the box?

Of the eight No-Maj men that had disappeared that day only the police detective and his subordinate would gain much attention and consequently a search. The transient nature of the other men made keeping tabs on them extremely difficult and they were not missed except by those closest to them.

This was not the case in the headquarters of MACUSA where the use of wild and dark magic had sent all into a near frenzy. It was into this beehive of activity that Newt Scamander entered and it was not long before he too knew what had happened.

“We may have a very large problem,” he began as he spoke to the gathered heads of the departments. “My preliminary investigation has turned up some disturbing evidence that I need to examine.”

“What are we dealing with, in your opinion,” a voice questioned as a door closed behind this late entry into the meeting.

“I would rather not say at this time. I simply do not have enough information to make a conclusion that would be viable.”

“That was not what I asked, Mister Scamander.”

It was at this point that Newt realized who had entered the meeting room and also that he had put off a question by Seraphina Picquery, President of MACUSA. That she was angered by his hesitance to answer was apparent and he made haste to correct his error.

“Madam President, I apologize for my reluctance to answer your question. The delicate nature of the situation requires that we move in a deliberate manner. Rushing to deal with this problem in a hasty fashion will no doubt alert the No-Maj to the problem and expose our world to them.”

“What is our problem, Mister Scamander?”

“I am sure that you are all aware that this area where we stand was once heavily wooded and that those woods were populated by magical creatures that the No-Maj were only dimly aware of. It was thought that these creatures, once their home areas were destroyed, either died off or moved on. I know believe that this was not the case.”

“We’re dealing with Bowtruckles?” a wizard at the front of the crowd asked.

“Bowtruckles are dangerous only to those who threaten trees. They certainly have no magical capabilities that would account for these disappearances or happenings. No- Maj lore talks about fairies that live in the woods and are hard to see unless they want to be seen. I believe that we are seeing their work, but with a hazardous shift.”

“The many ships that bring items from one part of the No-Maj world to another may have unwittingly brought something to these shores. There are rumors about carnivorous fairy like creatures that I believe are not legend, I believe that they are quite real. I firmly believe that they are real and that they have procreated with native fauna to produce what we are now dealing with.

“Are you saying that we are dealing with flesh eating fairies, Mister Scamander?”

“No, Madam President, I am not.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I am saying that I believe that we are dealing with creatures who first capture their victims and then absorb their energy.”

“Mister Scamander, do you realize how absurd you sound?”

“No more absurd than a No-Maj who publicly theorizes about our existence.”

A hush fell over the room as the words that had been spoken began to sink in.

“Is such a thing possible, absorbing the energy of a living being?”

“The Dementors of Azkaban do this very thing when they deliver the Dementor’s Kiss.”

“Mister Scamander, what do you suggest we do to combat this threat?”

“The first thing that we must do is determine what exactly we are dealing with. Once we have determined the nature of the beast that we are dealing with we can be better prepared to deal with it.”

“Do you believe that this beast constitutes a threat to our population?”

Newt turned to look at the grey haired wizard who had spoken and then nodded grimly before speaking.

“I do believe that this is the case. What we need to understand is that the only victims at this point have been No-Maj. We cannot begin to know what will happen should a magical folk fall to these creatures. I fear, however, that the results of such an occurrence would be dangerous beyond imagination. These beasts are apparently magical in their own right, the consumption of someone with magical blood would have unseen ramifications.”

The room nearly exploded as the department heads began to speak to each other in undisguised panic.

“Mister Scamander, do you think that they would be drawn to magic?”

“They will either be drawn to it or repelled by it. We cannot know this until we know what we are dealing with.”

All eyes watched as Seraphina Picquery stepped to the front of the room and Newt Scamander stepped aside. For the first time Newt realized how much the witch had aged in a very short time and that no doubt this situation was not helping her health.

“We all need to be on our guard. Until this situation is resolved I want all available Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement personnel diverted to deal with our problem. I shall also ask that the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures divert personnel to this situation. We all need to remember that the No-Maj government shall soon begin its own investigation of the situation and this could have a terrible outcome should they discover the true nature of their assailants.”

Newt started as the words rang through his mind and horror filled him as the possible consequences of Muggle involvement brought images of what could come.

“Madam President, I apologize for the intrusion, but we cannot allow the No-Maj authorities to get involved!”

“I do not see how we can avoid this, Mister Scamander,” Seraphina Picquery responded with a noticeable edge on her voice at the interruption.

“We must, Madam President, because if the No-Maj authorities discover the home of these creatures the entire city of New York may be destroyed.”

“What do you mean?”

“The No-Maj authorities believe that these happenings are the work of “hoodlums”, whatever those are, but if these beasts begin to take No-Maj that have discovered them their numbers may increase exponentially. We have no idea how many of these beasts are created, if that is what is happening, when they take one No-Maj. It is truly terrifying to consider how many may be spawned if they begin to consume No-Maj in greater numbers. In a very short time we could be facing an insurmountable army of these beasts and I doubt very much that they will stop at just attacking New York. I think that the entire continent would be enveloped by them and from there the rest of the world, including ours.”

The conversations in the room had been silence by this revelation and the gathered witches and wizards sat quietly as they considered that they had just been told. Finally one of the elder members of the meeting spoke quietly.

“What do we need to do?”

“Our movements are two-fold, first we must work to delay the No-Maj government and their investigation and second we must determine what we are dealing with and what their weaknesses are. This is imperative, for I fear that they will be soon searching for ours and once they determine our short-comings they shall defeat us swiftly and then all of this,” he said as he indicated the space around them and the city beyond, “will be gone. It is not only the No-Maj world that will become silent and vacant but ours as well.”

It was Seraphina Picquery that broke the silence as she cleared her throat before speaking.

“It would appear that all of us have vital work to do! I shall dispatch Obliviator Squads to deal with key No-Maj while Mister Scamander draws up our response to this threat. Mister Scamander,” the tall witch said as she turned to Newt, “you need to determine exactly what we are dealing with and you must do it with the utmost of speed. The actions against the No-Maj can only be done sparingly lest we draw attention to ourselves that we do not want.”

“I would suggest that the No-Maj that write the stories for their newspapers be among those that we obliviate.”

“Why should we do that?”

Newt turned to a tall balding wizard who had spoken to him.

“If we limit their knowledge about these occurrences it will make it easier to deal with the problem. The last thing that we need is for the No-Maj media to be blaring the news about what is happening.”

The gathered heads of departments began to disburse as the preparations for their response to the threat began to form. As he worked in an office that he had been given, Newt looked up at the clock that indicated the threat level. The hands that now stood at EMERGENCY left nothing to chance that they were facing a threat like none that they had ever known before. None of them could have guessed just what was preparing to occur miles from them in the busy port of the city.

Deep in the hold of a large steamer that had just begun to unload its cargo a box seemed to tremble and then glow as a low rumble began to echo through the space. Confused by what he was hearing, one of the laborers who had been tasked with assisting in the unloading of the ship’s burden stopped to look at the crate. He stepped closer to the crate as the sound within grew and the glow increased.

He watched with a puzzled expression as the large wooden container began to bounce and tremble violently. Several other workers began to gather to watch in amazement at the spectacle before them, not realizing the very real danger that they were in. Abruptly the trembling and bouncing stopped as the glow subsided. Emboldened by the cessation of the disturbance several of the men approached the crate to examine it closely.

“What do you suppose is in there, Alfred?”

The foreman stepped closer to the crate to examine the writing on the side of it before looking at the manifest on the clipboard that was in his hand. The lines on the manifest said that the crate held fabrics that had come from the Orient via France. Nothing on the manifest gave any explanation for what they had just seen and heard because certainly the odd behavior of the crate was not something that one expected from a box full of cloth.

“Did some animal get locked into that thing?”

Alfred Morse looked at his subordinate with disdain before responding to the man.

“This crate just came from France and nothing could live that long without food and water.”

“But maybe it’s something that no one has ever seen before! If we are the first to see it, then we get to claim it and be rich and famous.”

This statement brought a low series of muttered comments as the men agreed with the speaker. The possibility of not having to work as hard as they did appealed to the men and all were more than a little eager to escape the life that they currently lived.

“What animal do you know that glows? We all saw that, so how do you explain it?”

“Like I said, maybe it is something that no one has ever seen before! We can discover it and be rich!”

Not really much better paid than the men who worked under him; Alfred Morse felt his resolve to get back to work fading. Finally, the urging of his men broke through his resistance and he turned to one of them with an order.

“Get me that bar over there! We need to make certain that some poor animal is not locked in this thing and starving. No need to let it suffer.”

A moment later his large hands were grasping the bar and the crate was beginning to surrender to his assault. The men around him watched with rapt anticipation of great rewards as they wondered just what type of strange creature they would find. Their foreman was within his right to examine the contents of the crate as long as no damage was done to them.

The cracking of wood sounded within the hold as the nails finally gave way and then the lid was lifted from the crate. The men worked swiftly but cautiously to search the container and soon reached something very strange. A large number of small light green spheres covered some of the contents and one of the men lifted one of the objects to examine it.

“What do you suppose this is?”

“That, my boy, is green jade from the Orient and it is very valuable.”

“What is it doing in this crate?”

“Have you ever heard of smuggling, Johnny? I think that we have found some very valuable items that someone is trying to sneak into the country.”

“Are we going to let them do it?”

“Well, it is going to come into the country, but it is not going to go where it was intended to. Load your pockets boys, there is plenty for all!”

Within minutes the green spheres had vanished into the pockets of the workers and the other items had been placed back into the crate before the lid was refastened. Not long after that the crate was being hoisted out of the hold to make its way onto a truck that would take it on to its final destination. After a long day at work the men would leave the port happier than they usually were, each of them had pockets full of the strange green spheres and thoughts of wealth untold when they sold them. They had no idea about how wrong they were about it all.

Ten minutes after the men had left work one of the spheres was in the grubby hands of a man who dealt in valuable objects after buying them from others. He truly did not care if the proper owner was done with the item or if it had been given up willingly, he was in it for the money and his greedy eyes examined the object that he had been handed.

“How much will you give me for it?”

Jacob Manning looked up at the dock worker before him. He was curious about the origin of the object but was not going to ask how the man had come by it. This item had the potential to be very rewarding to him and he knew that he could sell it to a wealthy collector who enjoyed things from the Orient.

“I’ll give you twenty dollars for it!”

“You’re trying to rob me, Jacob! We have known each other for a long time and I always come to you first when I have something good like this is. I want at least thirty-five dollars and not a penny less!”

“Where did you get it?”

“I cannot say. Do we have a deal or not?”

“Well…”

“I can take it to someone else. There are others who buy in this city!”

“Oh, all right, I’ll give you your thirty-five!”

The worker watched in greedy anticipation as the buyer pulled several bills out of his drawer and then counted them before handing them over.

“Do you happen to have any more of these?”

“I have about five more.”

Dreams of the cash that his collector would give him nearly drove Jacob insane as the dock worker pulled five more of the spheres out of his pocket and laid them on the counter.

“Same deal, Jacob, I want thirty-five dollars for each of them.”

Jacob nodded his head and then turned to walk into a backroom to his safe to gather the money. He wasn’t worried, the money would be replaced and then some when his collector came to pay him a visit. It helped to have a member of the New York Stock Exchange as a customer because the man had money to spend and didn’t mind stepping into a dirty shop to pick up a curiosity or two. The jade spheres would get him at least one hundred dollars apiece easily. He did wonder where they had come from, but his greed for the money that he would get outweighed his curiosity. The money in hand he returned to his customer and handed it over after counting the bills out. Nodding his agreement, the worker took his reward and walked out of the shop without a backwards glance while Jacob Manning reached over to pick up his phone to call his benefactor. The conversation would be short, as they always were.

“Mr. Wilford, I have something that I think that you will be interested in. It just came in and I wanted you to be the first to see them.”

A minute later he hung up the phone and looked down at the pale green spheres that rested on his counter.

“You, my little green lovelies, are going to make me a lot of money. I just wonder where you came from, what you are and if I will be seeing any more like you.”

He picked up the spheres and carefully carried them back to his safe to wait for his buyer. As he looked at them he felt a slight tingle in hands and noticed some strange designs on the surface of the spheres. Putting this out of his mind, he laid them carefully in a tray that he placed into the safe and then closed the door to protect his investment. Soon, very soon, he would have a lot of money to spend and then the extra that he had given over his initial offer would be worth it. He walked to the door and locked it before walking up the stairs to his home.

In his backroom the safe began to rock slowly and started to emit a light green glow. This would happen for a few minutes and then cease as what was within settled down to wait for what was to come. Jacob Manning’s safe was not the only resting place for the mysterious green orbs because within hours they were scattered throughout the poorer neighborhoods of the borough. Their new owners cached them away in any safe place that they could find and more than a few ended up in the hands of those like Jacob Manning.

Newt Scamander had no inclination that any of this had happened and how a situation that had been contained now was hopelessly spread through the area. He and his associates were busy examining every bit of the very sparse evidence that they could find and not liking what they were seeing.

“Everything that I have seen points to a mating between native fauna and something that has been brought into the country,” he announced. “This development is going to make the problem devilishly hard to manage or keep from notice.”

“At least the Obliviator teams are hard at work already,” the wizard working next to him murmured. “They will hold the No-Maj newspapers at bay until we can get an idea of what we are fighting and how to deal with it.”

“We can only hope that this does not spread beyond the city. The last thing that we need is for even one of these things to travel elsewhere.”

The group around Newt could only nod their agreement as they joined him in that hope.


	5. Cracks in the Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The small green orbs are, in many ways far more dangerous than they appear.

“They are extraordinary, Jacob. I do not believe that I have ever seen anything even remotely resembling them before.”

Jacob Manning watched as his customer examined each of the six identical orbs. The transaction was taking longer than usual, but there was a lot of money at stake and he could not fault the man for looking the items over carefully. Finally, Johnathan Wilford looked up from the pale green orbs with the question that Jacob Manning had been anticipating.

“What do you want for them?”

“Well, Mr. Wilford, they are jade and obviously from the Orient. I have never seen anything like them before and that makes them very likely rare.”

“I understand all of that, but the question remains, how much do you want for them?”

“What would you offer?”

The man in the expensive business suit examined the orbs once again before speaking.

“I will give you seventy-five dollars for the six.”

“I was thinking about one hundred dollars apiece.”

“That is preposterous! They are not worth that!”

“Then it has been very nice doing business with you, Mr. Wilford. I will be calling another customer of mine who appreciates the finer things in life and art.”

Johnathan Wilford watched as the man behind the counter began to gather the orbs and then finally spoke.

“I will give you seventy-five dollars apiece and not a penny more.”

Jacob Manning paused and then turned back to his customer.

“If you will make it eighty dollars apiece I will make the deal.”

“Alright, damn you, eighty dollars apiece it is.”

A few minutes later Jacob Manning was looking at the cash that his customer had laid on the counter between them. He carefully wrapped each orb before placing it in a box that he had lined with paper. The new owner examined the last one to be wrapped and noticed small, nearly invisible markings on the surface. It appeared to be some strange sort of script that he was unfamiliar with and he was nearly giddy with anticipation to get home and look the orbs over more carefully and in better light. Finally, the last orb was wrapped and placed into the box with its mates before the container was handed to the man who had purchased them.

“Do you anticipate getting any more of these?”

“Mr. Wilford, I never know what will come through that door. But I will let you know should anymore arrive, I promise that you shall have the first opportunity to acquire any more that I get.”

The man in the suit nodded and then gathered the box before hurrying out through the door and back into the sunshine. He really didn’t mind entering the shop as the man behind the counter often had curiosities that could not be found elsewhere. The markings on the orbs had him wondering, however, he had never seen anything similar and wondered which ancient dynasty they belonged to. He would have to pull one of his many books off of the shelf and try to solve this mystery. His driver stepped out of the limousine to open a door for his employer and Johnathan Wilford was soon settled in his seat as the long vehicle raced for his mansion.

He could just see the looks on the faces of his rivals when they saw this new addition to his massive collection of ancient Oriental artifacts. That they were ancient he had no doubt and he felt grateful that he had been able to buy them at such a low price. A more reputable shop would have charged many times more for each one than what he had given Manning. He glanced down at the box again and was surprised to see what he thought was a light glow coming from the box. He reached down to carefully pull some of the wrapping aside and found nothing out of the ordinary. The orb that was uncovered looked much as it had in the shop and he replaced the wrapping that had been moved. The car and its cargo would soon be home and then he could give the items the admiration that they deserved before placing them in the case that they would occupy.

Not all of the orbs would find a willing home so easily, however. One of the dock workers arrived home to find his wife less than happy about him bringing something else for her to clean around home. She looked at the orbs that he had pulled from his pocket with disgust before speaking.

“Are you trying to lose your job? Stealing things from those crates is a sure way to do so and if you had to steal something could you not have stolen some food? You have a hungry family here and you bring home green rocks instead of food? Are you mad?”

“Everyone said that those things are valuable. I was going to take them to one of the shops that will buy things like them.”

“What if the rightful owner sees you with them, did you ever think about that? They will haul you in front of a judge and send you to prison for stealing if you get caught again.”

“But no one caught me, Violet. I walked out of there free and clear like everyone else that took some of them. No one even looked at us when we left because no one knew that that those things were in that crate.”

“How would they not know that something like that was in the crate?”

“Alfred said that they were probably being smuggled into the country. Who is going to complain to the police that the things that they were trying to smuggle into the country got stolen? They will stay quiet unless they want to go to prison themselves.”

“Have you considered the possibility that the people who put those things in that crate might come looking for them? Did you stop to think about the fact that if they do not mind breaking the law by sneaking things into the country that they might not mind breaking the law to kill the person who took what was not theirs? Did you even think about what might happen to your family if they come here to take back what is theirs?”

The entire plot now did not look so inviting to a man who had been trying to make it rich. He had heard about what the gangsters were doing to people who stole from them and the idea of being dumped off of a boat while wearing concrete shoes didn’t appeal to him.

“What should I do with them?”

“Throw them away and do it fast!”

“I can do that but where?”

“Take them to the dock and throw them into the ocean. No one will find them there.”

“What if they still come looking for them?”

“Well, at least they will not be here!”

“What if I take them back and put them back into the crate that they came out of?”

“Is it still on the ship?”

Disappointment clouded his face as he remembered the crate being hoisted out of the hold of the ship and then placed on a truck to be delivered. He shook his head glumly and then looked at the small green balls on his kitchen table. They represented a number of things, money and food but possibly also death for everyone in the apartment.

“They go into the ocean tomorrow first thing,” he said, “I’ll do it before anyone else gets there so that no one will see me.”

“I know that you meant well, Johnny, but we cannot take the chance that someone will come looking for them.”

Finally convinced that he had to get rid of the objects, Johnny picked them up carefully and wrapped them in the cloth that he had brought them home in. He didn’t notice the one that had rolled to the edge of the table and fallen to the floor where it continued to roll until it was safely concealed under the sofa. It lay under the furniture as a series of sparks and flashes failed to attract the attention of the occupants of the dingy room. If he had looked, Johnny would have seen its mates doing the same thing and he would have realized that these items were potentially dangerous.

The small green balls were now largely scattered to the less desirable part of the borough and many had found their way into the hands of those who dealt in stolen items. These men saw the strange items as a way to make easy money by selling them to the fortunate who had money to spend on technically useless items. By the time that the sun rose on the next morning the balls were safely dispersed and no one could have even started to guess their location, even if they had known to look for them.

Johnny rose early that morning and, after gathering his lunch for the day, kissed his wife and then hurried out of the apartment with the balls hidden in his coat pocket. He gave great thought to doing as he had told his wife that he was going to do but the attack as he walked past an alley changed that. The three men who had rushed from the shadows grabbed everything that they could from their victim, including the cloth wrapped orbs from his pocket. Johnny was lucky to be breathing, albeit a bit bruised and bloodied, after they left him behind and he hurried on to work after realizing that he no longer carried his burden. If the owners of the balls came looking for them at least it wouldn’t be him that went swimming with weights tied to him to ensure that he sank.

Many blocks away, the three men hovered around a table in a dark tavern as they divided their take from Johnny. It didn’t look like much, as he had possessed little, but they hurried to divide the orbs and stuff them into their own pockets. The job done, they settled down to drink the cheap whiskey that they had ordered as they congratulated themselves on a successful heist.

“That one was easy, boys, he never even saw us coming.”

“Merle, you hit him hard enough, I thought you had killed him until he started to move again.”

“He tried to get away, I had to do something and that rock was just the thing to put him down.”

“What do you suppose those green rocks will bring?”

“Who knows? Maybe Victor will be generous when we take them to him. I plan to ask for ten dollars each for mine.”

The other two men nodded their agreement at the planned request and were so busy getting their share of the bottle in the middle of the table that none noticed one of the small green orbs wriggle out of the pocket of the smallest man. It fell towards the floor and then stopped a fraction of an inch above it to hover in the air. Then it slowly drifted to a corner of the room where it found a crack in the wall to slide through. Safely concealed, it began to glow and then spark as a strange transformation took place. A crack appeared on the surface of the orb and it spread rapidly until it reached all around the ball. Then more cracks appeared until finally the small ball fell apart and the pieces of the shell lay on the floor surrounding a minuscule figure that huddled on the floor for a moment before beginning to stir.

The small creature raised its head and opened eyes that were a terrible red before opening a mouth that was filled with needle sharp teeth. Tiny muscles flexed and fingers crowned with razor sharp claws straightened as the creature stood for the first time from the fetal position that it had been in. Then it scurried away from the scene leaving the remains of the orb behind as it sought the cover of shadows. It watched the men at the table and the other people who occupied the room as thoughts filled its mind and it uttered its first sounds.

“ _No me_! _No Me_! _NO Me_! _NO ME_!”

A man, looking for the facilities within the building, made the mistake of entering the room where the creature was concealed. He was about to leave the room in disappointment and growing need when he saw the red glow beneath a shelf. Curious, he crouched down to get a better look and would wish that he had continued looking for a water closet.

A small, savage shape suddenly hurtled towards his face and he fell backwards in an attempt to escape something that was sure to be unpleasant. The noise alerted the other patrons of the bar as well as the barkeep and many started towards the room to investigate. They stopped short at the door because of the sounds that were emanating from the room behind the portal. The door suddenly was flung open and the man attempted to crawl out into the relative safety to be found in numbers. The other occupants of the tavern could only stand and watch with wide eyes as he was suddenly dragged back into the room. The door slammed shut and the noises recommenced only to end as a terrible scream sounded. Then all was dead silent and the door swung slowly open. Cautiously, a number of now thoroughly sober men crept towards the room to look in. All expected to see a body and a maniac standing over it, but they were stunned to find only a devastated room and nothing more.

Clutching beer bottles and any other makeshift weapon that they could find in easy reach the crowd slowly filled the site of what had obviously been a terrible fight. Only shattered boxes and bottles filled the room, but not a sign existed of the man who had been dragged back into the room or who ever had done it. Silence filled the room as they looked around and then a strange sound began to enter their consciousness.

“ _No me_! _No Me_! _NO Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

Courage from a bottle only goes so far and it failed all that had gained it in this instance. A sudden flight for the door ensued and, a moment later, so did screaming as one by one they were dragged into the shadows by what were obviously numerous assailants. Only one man, who had been farthest from the door, managed to escape the catastrophe and he would run a great distance before he felt safe. A moment later, he vanished into an alley as though dragged by multiple hands.

As the debris settled in the tavern only a light rustling could be heard and the only trace of the former occupants were the metal items that they had once carried. Coins, spectacles and belt buckles were all that would be found along with small pieces of green shell like material that littered the floor near where the three men who had robbed Johnny had fallen. Suddenly the lightbulb in the room exploded as laughter sounded and then a number of voices sounded although there was no one to hear them.

“ _No me_! _No Me_! _NO Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

All around the borough strange things began to occur and it would not be long before people would begin to wonder if the New Salemers were right. Were witches among them and creating this mischief?

Johnathan Wilford knew nothing about what was happening down in an area of the city very foreign to his lifestyle. He was sitting at his desk as he looked at the small green orbs that he had purchased from Manning. The magnifying glass that he held did little to reveal the nature of the script on the sides of the object that he was examining and he could tell that, whatever type of writing it was, it certainly was not Chinese. He was starting to believe that he had been duped and that he had just thrown good money away on junk that had probably been hand manufactured in one of the poor parts of the world. If this was the case, Manning would pay dearly for there was a large mortgage on his building and Wilford knew who held that mortgage. Payback for fraud would be a terrible price to pay.

Still, the balls were definitely made out of jade and they were highly attractive. He carried the ball that he had been examining to the case that now held its mates and placed it on the silk material that they lay upon before closing the glass door to keep them from curious and possibly dishonest hands.

He left the room and did not see the small balls begin to glow within the case. They started to move by themselves and then abruptly stopped. The glow subsided and the balls ceased their movement. A quiet chanting that had begun abruptly ceased and the room was quiet once again. Secure in the knowledge that he had something in his collection that his peers did not, Jonathan Wilford sat quietly in his library as he soaked up the sunlight that was pouring into the room and thought about the reactions from his fellows when they saw the items.

_‘They are going to be so beside themselves with envy that I am almost giddy with anticipation. The look in their eyes when they see those balls is going to be worth what I paid for them. I can just hear the questions and pleading now, especially from Brown, he always thinks that he is so far above me. Well, we will just see how he feels when he sees the new additions to my collection.’_

He settled back in his chair as he sipped the drink that his servant had brought to him. The cold sting of the alcohol in the drink made him wince and he silently cursed the man for the excessive amount of whiskey in the glass. The fool simply did not know how to mix a drink for a gentleman, but he more than made up for it in the kitchen when he prepared a meal and the fact that his employer found the man extremely attractive was also a plus.

He took another sip as he relaxed in the chair and watched the sun begin to dip towards the horizon and shadows in his yard begin to lengthen. Tomorrow he would unveil his new acquisitions to his peers and revel in their displays of envy. Another sip from the drink deepened his contentment and his eyelids began to droop as the addition that his manservant had placed into his glass took effect. Johnathan Wilford failed to notice the splash of his drink into his lap as the glass fell from his fingers and the sound of the tumbler striking the floor never registered with his dying brain. His heart stopped in mid-beat and then Johnathan Wilford knew no more.

None of this was lost on his manservant, who stood and watched the demise of his employer from a doorway. He hurried to step forward to check for signs of life and found none. This done, he rushed to the room where the valuable collection was housed. The larger, more valuable, pieces would have to wait until he had help from his accomplices, but the smaller pieces would leave the mansion tonight. The small green orbs were the first things to vanish into his pocket where they came to rest beside the wad of currency that he had removed from his now deceased boss’ safe. As he hurried to empty the cases he thought about all that he had been forced to deal with from the dolt who now lay dead in another room.

Wilford had actually announced one night that he had strong feelings for his manservant and that announcement had driven the servant nearly mad with fright. The last thing that he needed was for one of his friends to hear this news and begin to believe that Bernard Gimmble had similar feelings towards the overweight, effeminate Wilford. All of the plans and conniving would have come to naught and the fat fool would still be crooning his feelings for another man.

Bernard finished emptying the cases of small items and hurried out of the house to summon the rest of the gang. They would make short work of emptying the house of valuables and then leave it behind for the remnants to be discovered many days later. The guests that Wilford had been expecting would not arrive thanks to notes that had been sent out explaining that, due to unforeseen events, the dinner party had been cancelled. None would think much of it as they all dreaded having to listen to the fool gush about his newest prizes as he paraded about in satin attire.

By the light of morning the home of Johnathan Wilford would be smoking wreckage, what was left of Johnathan would be found in what remained of his library and Jacob Manning would be back in possession of the orbs and many of the other treasures that had once belonged to a former customer. The fat fool had misjudged him, had actually taken him for someone who could be trusted, but Jacob Manning had found a customer with far deeper pockets and wasn’t about to let an opportunity pass him by. Bernard Gimmble would never be found, of that Manning was certain, for the sewers under the city were a massive labyrinth that would never be completely searched and even if the man was found there was nothing to lead the police back to his other employer.

Jacob Manning fell asleep that night dreaming about the money that he would soon collect for the items not realizing that deep within his shop his safe was glowing once again as it rocked and that miniscule cracks were forming on the surfaces of each of the orbs.

All over the city the hatching had begun.


	6. Mystery Solved?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Important evidence is uncovered int he mysterious happenings in New York, but are the questions truly answered?

While what had happened at Johnathan Wilford’s home had gone unnoticed at the headquarters of MACUSA and Newt had not been alerted to the happening, the incident in the tavern had garnered a much different response.

The deaths of the tavern’s patrons had sparked a sense of urgency and every hour brought more arrivals from the Auror’s headquarters.

Newt Scamander carefully stepped over the debris in the backroom of the tavern and was intrigued by the large number of metal objects that littered the floor. Muggle coins and other artifacts were scattered everywhere and he wondered why. He was nearly ready to leave the room when he noticed the small shards of green material that were mingled among the debris. He bent down to examine a piece of the material and then carefully picked it up.

As he held it in his hand he detected a slight sensation of a near electrical sort around the item. He glanced around and began to gather the remaining shards of similar material. That they belonged together there was no doubt and the curvature of the fragments told him that whatever they had come from had been circular in nature. He cast around and knew that he had all of the material to be found as well as something else. His wand had detected trace fragments of a magic that he had never before encountered and he hoped that examination of the shards would provide much needed information.

He carefully placed the pieces in a small container and then placed that within his pocket. They didn’t have much time before the No-Maj authorities arrived to explore the place and he wanted to be long gone when they arrived. True, the detective and officer that he had confronted at the school were among the missing, but he didn’t want to have to explain his presence when two officers lay unconscious in the outer room. Two of his associates kept a silent watch as he examined the scene one last time. It was definite that something magical in nature had taken place in the room, but just what had it been?

“Scamander! You need to get a move on, the No-Maj police have arrived and we cannot be found here. I truly do not want to have to explain my presence in a crime scene.”

He turned to the man who had spoken to him and then nodded.

“Wake them up,” he said, “and then get out of here. I will be along directly.”

He heard the light POP of someone disapparating and then the confused mumbles of the police officers as they woke. He looked around one more time and then disapparated just as the door to the room opened and the officers entered the chamber. The men looked around in confusion because all had heard the noise of his departure but there was nothing to be seen that would explain the strange sound that they had detected. Confounded, they turned to the task at hand as they began to sift through the remnants of what had happened in the room.

Newt and his companions stood safely in the headquarters of MACUSA as they moved towards the room that they had been allocated. Reaching into his pocket once he had arrived, Newt opened the container to gently tip the contents out onto the surface of the table. It was obvious that whatever the item had been something had come out of it and he wondered what that something was. A horrible feeling had been growing within Newt for several days as a grim picture began to emerge. He had seen items similar to this one during a trip to China after a particularly serious outbreak in that country which had resulted in the deaths of many people. Not just deaths, but the total consumption of the victims, many times in front of horrified victims.

The Chinese had a name for the creatures that had caused the mayhem and, roughly translated, the creatures had been called Scathlings. If that was what they were facing the situation was far more dangerous than they had thought. Given the color of the item before him he now understood about the large number of green balls that had been vanishing around the city. They were being used as camouflage should a nest be located. It was far better to have fake eggs destroyed than real ones and he wondered how many real eggs existed and where they were located.

The only Scathling that he had ever seen had been dead; somehow a peasant had managed to kill it. The creature had been around six inches tall, gray in color and had a mouth full of teeth. It also possessed an innate aura of magic around it. The carcass had been taken for study and it was found that they were genderless and possibly able to reproduce at will. This fact complicated the problem before Newt. If the creatures were Scathlings, then there was no way of telling how many there might be of them.

This also made him wonder about the possibility that the foreign creatures had mated with the native fauna. They were quite similar to fairies that lived in the area and if the two species managed to mate and reproduce there was no telling what mutations they might face.

“We have a very large problem because if these are what I think that they are we are all in very great danger.”

“What do you think that they are, Mister Scamander?”

Newt turned to see the door to the room close behind President Seraphina Picquery and now the tall woman stood next to the table where he had placed the shards.

“These shards are clearly made of a form of jade and the script on them is vaguely a type of ancient Chinese. I believe Madam President that we are dealing with what the Chinese wizards called Scathlings. They are a wingless form of fairy, incredibly vicious and highly magical. They do not eat their victims. They utterly consume them by absorbing them completely.”

“Can they be killed?”

“Yes, but that is not the issue we face. If these are Scathlings they can reproduce at will without the need to mate. If they do mate with the native fairies of this area we shall have a problem that may not be easy to subdue.”

“How can we destroy them?”

“The one that I saw dead had been beaten to death by a Chinese peasant.”

“We need to get No-Maj Chinese peasants to kill them?”

“No, Madam President, but we are going to need to make do with what we have to draw them out.”

“What do we need, Mister Scamander? Tell me and I shall get it for you.”

“I do not know for certain at this time, I will need more examples to study before I draw a conclusion.”

“While we are waiting for more examples, Mister Scamander, many more No-Maj will die and we run the risk of interference from their authorities. We cannot hold them at bay indefinitely.”

“I am painfully aware of the risks, Madam President, but I simply do not have enough information to provide a useful solution.”

“Mister Scamander, what will happen if these creatures spread outside the city?”

“I really do not wish to think about that, Madam President.”

“Mister Scamander, I am giving you full authority to deal with this menace in any way necessary! You are our best hope to avoid a catastrophe.”

Newt swallowed hard as he realized what the president was saying. The full weight of the emergency was resting on his shoulders and the fate of the city as well as its inhabitants depended on him.

While Newt worked on the mystery the small green orb under the couch of the worker rocked forward until it was visible. The wife of the worker, noticing it immediately, picked it up and hurried to an open window through which she hurled the object. She watched as it fell towards the street where it bounced twice before coming to rest. A group of children noticed the small ball and began to move towards it just as a large truck rounded a corner. The children watched intently as the truck approached and the ball was in imminent danger of being squashed.

Just as the truck reached the ball the vehicle was suddenly propelled several feet into the air to crash back onto the street several yards away. Terrified out of his mind by the occurrence the driver, once he was able, flung the door open and abandoned the truck where it sat. He raced down the middle of the street screaming at the top of his lungs until he suddenly stopped in mid-stride.

The gathered crowd watched the entire spectacle and then turned their attention back to the ball as a young boy yelled. The ball was bouncing and sparking wildly as it moved towards the now inert driver. Screams sounded as the man began to dissolve in front of the crowd, which wasted no time in dispersing, only to intensify as he vanished and other people found themselves frozen in place. Then they too began to dissolve, one after the other, until none of the paralyzed citizens remained. Those who were close enough to hear were amazed and terrified as a strange voice began to echo through the narrow street.

“ _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

Newt was looking through a large book that dealt with Chinese magical creatures in the hope that some information might be gleaned from the pages and had just slammed it closed in frustration when one of the other wizards ran into the room.

“Mister Scamander, there has been another incident with mass casualties and a large number of No-Maj witnesses. The situation is now out of control and an emergency meeting has been called by President Picquery.”

While the occupants of the building hurried towards the meeting, the ball remained where it had been until a small child hurried forth with a large stick in his hands. The ball began to move away from the threat but didn’t have the necessary speed to avoid the aggressor. The boy’s mother cried out in alarm as the ball began to bounce and spark just as the boy swung the stick. Caught in mid bounce the ball was propelled down the street to collide hard with the brick wall of a building. The bouncing and sparking did not recommence and instead the ball lay there quite inert as the normally green color of its shell turned to black. Then it fell into pieces and a pile of dust was all that remained of its occupant. Emboldened by the apparent victory that the child had managed, several people moved forward to examine the remains of the sphere. Several noses wrinkled as an aroma rivaling that of rotten eggs wafted up from the object and, once they realized that there was no danger, an old man stepped forward with a bucket of water which he hurled on the mess. The crowd cleared immediately when a shrill scream sounded and a small plume of smoke drifted into the air from where the ball had been. Then there was nothing more to be seen except for wet concrete and a small amount of the dust.

Deep under the city, the pulsation of the green spheres stopped as the end of one of their brethren registered with them. The incessant chanting ceased as swiftly as the pulsation had and for a moment all was still and nearly silent in the cavern. This silence ended as a loud scream echoed through the labyrinth of tunnels, much to the consternation of several men who had been assigned to work in a nearby area. The quartet did not waste time trying to determine the source of the noise; they did what any ordinary highly frightened person would do. They ran like rabbits as they attempted to escape whatever was terrible enough to make that noise. They hurried up the ladder to the opening that normally was covered by a manhole lid, a lid which fairly sprung from where it rested as the first man shoved it aside. The entire crew would run from the site of the problem and steadfastly refuse to ever return to the sewers.

An Auror stood near the scene where the small boy had scored his victory. He had witnessed, by chance, the entire incident and finally managed to slip forward to collect a small amount of the black dust. Securing it in a small vial, he hurried from the scene and then slipped into the vacant shell of a burned out building where he disapparated. Reappearing near the building which held the headquarters of MACUSA he hurried to enter the structure and soon was rushing towards the room where Newt sat in a chair listening to the meeting that was in progress.

Newt looked up as the Auror tapped him on the shoulder and then widened his eyes when the man told him what he had in the vial. He rose swiftly and hurried out of the room, much to the annoyance of President Picquery, to examine the substance in better light.

Despite the now black color of the powder, Newt could discern the former green of the orb. There was no doubt that it had come from the same sort of sphere that he had the remains of in his lab. He listened intently as the Auror described what had happened in that crowded street.

“You say that the people that disappeared simply melted away?”

“Their flesh vanished first leaving the skeleton visible and then that vanished too. Their clothing vanished as well with only metal objects remaining afterwards.”

Newt thought back to the room that he had examined and suddenly remembered the number of coins and other metal objects that had been left behind. This information coalesced in his mind as he realized that finally they knew what they were dealing with. The door of the room slamming open to admit a thoroughly peeved Seraphina Picquery brought him out of his reverie.

“I sincerely hope that whatever led you to hurry out of the meeting that I called was extremely important, Mister Scamander.”

“Oh, it was, Madam President, I firmly believe that I know what we are up against and knowing that, I can determine how to fight the little blighters!”

The fury died in the eyes of the president as the ebony witch stepped forward.

“Tell me what you have found out, Newt.”

“We are indeed dealing with what the Chinese called Scathlings. We were fortunate that one of our Aurors witnessed the attack and its aftermath. He saw how one of the spheres was destroyed and what finalized the destruction of the orb.”

“Can they be destroyed by the use of magic?”

“Yes, I believe that they can but a certain amount of caution must be employed when do this as the creatures are highly magical themselves.”

“What else can you tell me about them?”

“They exist in a hive type environment with one central thought filling them. What we need to worry about is their location. Obviously No-Maj have managed to get them into their possession and have probably scattered them throughout the city.”

“How did they get here in the first place?”

“Madam President, there are ships entering that harbor every day for nearly every nation in the world. They probably either stowed away or were smuggled in by No-Maj who had no clue about what they were doing.”

“Then they would arrive in containers marked as Chinese in origin!”

"Perhaps not, Madam President, these creatures are clever enough to slip into crates coming from other places of origin. There is also the fact that if these orbs were smuggled into this country there is no way to know which crate they came in.”

“I will need to see the list of vessels that have arrived in the harbor in the last week. The manifests of the ships will also be needed.”

“How will that help us?”

“If we can locate the vessel that they arrived on then we can determine how long they have been in the city.”

“Which will tell us how long we have before these things hatch, is that what you are saying?”

“Yes, Madam President.”

“I shall dispatch a team to the docks to look for your information. Do you require anything else?”

“There are a lot of dock workers living in the buildings on that street. Perhaps one of them took that orb from the crate that it came in. If one of your teams can delve into the minds of the No-Maj we might find out how long ago this happened.”

“That should not be difficult to do. Their minds are very vulnerable to legilimency.”

“Once we find out how long ago the orbs came into the city we have a chance of estimating when they will hatch. If we can strike before they hatch we have a chance of ending this threat.”

While they talked neither of them realized that the lone hatchling was busy seeking more of its kind. The creature was becoming angry as each turn that it made in its search led to naught. It had also been injured when it was attacked by a large rat. The creature had nearly lost the fight as the rat had been resistant to the magic employed by the Scathling. As a result of the fight it was now minus three fingers on one hand, had serious injuries to its midsection and was blind in one eye. All could be made well if it could find the hive, but the prospects were becoming dim. It rounded a corner just as it was struck by a carefully aimed stick. The Scathling crumpled to the pavement a moment before it was lifted by one leg to be examined.

“What do you suppose it is?”

“I think that it’s some sort of monkey.”

“Here in New York?”

“I dunno, maybe it got away from a zoo or one of the organ players.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I’m gonna eat it. It will be nice to have some fresh meat for once and you cannot get much fresher than this,” the derelict said as he smashed the head of the creature with a brick. “He is definitely dead now and he will be in the stew pot within the hour.”

The other man watched as the creature was tucked into his friend’s knapsack and followed along eagerly as they kept an eye out for other edibles. The volume of the screeching in the sewers increased with the loss of the lone hatchling. Fury was growing within the hive as the pulsation, which had stopped with the destruction of the egg, resumed at a fever pitch. Soon, very soon, it would not be one of _their_ numbers that was being eaten.

A strange sound echoed through the chamber as cracks began to spread over the surface of each of the spheres. If anyone had been there to witness the activity in the large room they would have seen a piece of a shell fairly leap from where it had been and spindly gray arms reach from the opening. The long claws on the ends of the fingers slowly curled as the hands made fists and suddenly the orb fell to pieces as its occupant was freed of its confinement. It opened its terrible red eyes before tilting its head back, opening its teeth filled mouth, and then screeching its challenge to the world above.

As if in answer to this challenge, another pair of arms emerged as a neighboring orb was sundered. Then another gray skinned creature rose from the shell of its former prison to join the first in a screech towards the heavens.

Far away, in Jacob Manning’s safe, the trembling stopped as did the glow. The pawn broker had no way of knowing the danger that he was in as he walked towards the steel cube and then began to turn the combination wheel to retrieve the orbs within for another customer. He had nearly finished dialing in the combination when there was a brilliant flash and the heavy door was hurled from its hinges. Manning had no way to get out of the path of the object and was crushed between it and the wall that it collided with. His end was simple and quick, quite unlike the end of the customer who had attempted to race from the shop.

The man watched with incredulous eyes as the bones in his hand appeared through skin that was now transparent. Then he saw no more as his organs dissolved and finally, as the pile of bones collapsed to the floor along with the clothing that he had worn, several gray creatures emerged from the back room. His skeleton vanished before they turned their attention to the remains of Manning who vanished just the same as his customer. When the creatures vanished through a floor drain, only metal objects remained in the shop. The sounds of coins, nails and other metal items falling to the floor echoed through the room for a brief time before all became silent again. The building, to observers outside, seemed to wobble for a moment and before it vanished into the basement in a cloud of dust and debris. Rescue workers and volunteers would labor long and hard to dig down to the former shop in an effort to free anyone trapped within. All would be stunned to find absolutely no trace of the occupants of the shop or any of the wood that had been used to erect the structure. Only masonry, bricks and mortar, shards of glass and pieces of metal would be found within the debris pile that had been a building.

Deep underground the escapees would find their way to the cavern which held the hive. The six creatures would join their fellows as the chant grew in intensity and volume.

“ _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_!** ”

Newt Scamander, the assembled witches and wizards at the headquarters of MACUSA and the citizens of the city of New York had no idea what was building under their feet or the very real danger that they faced. But all would very soon find out.


	7. Feng Qin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help with the situation comes from a strange source while a more reliable source turns down their request.

The old oriental man frowned as he looked at the dark spot on the sidewalk where the creature had died. His brow furrowed and then his eyes opened wide as a nearly silent curse escaped his lips. His movement appeared to be that of an old man, although it was an act and he was actually quite a lot older than he appeared to be. He was on a trail and realized that his assumptions had been correct; he only hoped that his fears were not as well.

Feng Qin had been pursuing the orbs for years and now he seemed to have found them and it was in the worst place possible. He was quite aware of the structure of the American city and what lay beneath it. The labyrinth beneath the city would make tracking the orbs nearly impossible and, if they had hatched, quite dangerous.

He slowly made his way across the street and was quite aware that he was being watched by a group of thugs intent on taking whatever the old man had. He approached an alley and then stepped into it. The group hurried across the street and then into the alley where they expected to find a helpless victim, they could not have been more mistaken.

They swiftly caught up with the old man and, as they prepared to strike, were suddenly thrown backwards with incredible force by a single wave of the old man’s hand. Wondering just what trickery had foiled their plan, the leader of the pack pulled a long wicked knife from his coat and lunged at the target. The others grinned as they waited for their comrade to end the struggle and then turned to run when their friend was thrown several feet without the old man moving an inch. The thug crashed to the ground, earning several cuts and contusions from the broken glass on the ground and the brick wall that he had struck.

_‘Leave now, or face my wrath like your friend has!’_

The command, not spoken, but very clear in their heads, put the men to flight and they soon were far away from someone that they didn’t want to confront again. They would congregate again in a filthy pub where they would decide not to talk about what had happened.

Many miles away, as the old man continued his search, Newt and the rest of the group working on the mystery were alerted to a strange occurrence in the area where the Scathling had died. Strange and unusual magic had been detected and it had occurred in the presence of No-Maj. The clock already was at its highest level of alert and the incident brought everyone in the building to frenzy. This was the last thing that was needed at this point; magic performed in the presence of No-Maj could alert the Second Salemers and the No-Maj authorities.

President Picquery, already alarmed by the presence of the creatures in the city, stood face to face with Newt as she issued a directive.

“Mister Scamander, I need you to investigate this incident and I need it done now!”

She then turned to the other wizards who were investigating the incursion by the creatures in the city before speaking to them.

“If we cannot get ahead of this, you shall all be reassigned to Obliviator squads. It is imperative that no knowledge of this gets out of the city and that the creatures are not permitted to spread. All efforts are necessary and will become reasonable should it seem apparent that the No-Maj government has discovered out existence.”

Newt could only watch as the witch left the office and wish that he had never heard of the city of New York. The egg shells and dust from the dead creature offered little evidence about how to destroy the beasts and he wondered just how they were going to accomplish the task. He left the office and was nearly ready to disapparate when several Aurors rushed out of their office and then raced past him. They were clearly heading for the entrance as they disapparated and he wondered just what or who could elicit such a response.

The old man had walked a great many blocks in a short time and now stood outside the Woolworth Building as he gazed up in awe at the structure. Something had led him here although he did not know what. The mystery was answered as several men approached him from within the crowd and then quickly hustled him away.

“Who are you and why are you here?”

The old man looked at the man who had spoken to him with surprise as the surrounding crowd that had been watching the incident suddenly went on with their business as though they had seen nothing.

_‘The question is, who are you, what are you and how have you done what you have?’_

The Auror in charge looked at the old man strangely as he began to realize what they had encountered. They loosened their grip on his arms and very soon were walking with the being who was obviously not a No-Maj. Newt and many others watched as the group strode through the concourse of the MACUSA headquarters and then stopped in front of Seraphina Picquery. The ancient man bowed to the President before being told who was in charge.

“May I ask just who you are, sir, and why you are here?”

_‘I am Feng Qin and I have traveled for a great deal of time and over much distance to get to this city. You have a problem here, I believe, and what I seek may be responsible for it.’_

“You speak without talking, how is this possible?”

_‘An attack many years before your birth relieved me of the power of speech. But I find this mode of communication much simpler.’_

“You spoke of us having a problem. Do you know what we are facing and how?”

_‘The creatures that you face are a plague, kind lady, and should you not defeat them they will destroy this city and kill all within. I have tracked their eggs for decades and have reason to believe that they have arrived here. I have seen evidence of the beginning of an infestation and, once they gain a foothold, they shall be nearly impossible to remove.’_

“Would you be willing to speak to someone who has also traveled in an effort to determine the best way to eliminate these creatures?”

_‘Of course, I will speak to your person, but it must be that person who is standing to your left. He has traveled to my country in the past and has seen these creatures first hand.’_

Newt swallowed hard and then stepped forward to greet the ancient man. He smiled weakly and then extended his hand, but the old man just fixed him with a stern stare.

“Master Qin, it is a pleasure to meet you again.”

_‘Mister Scamander, I wish that I could say the same. They are still rebuilding the temple that you nearly destroyed on your visit to China! The non-magical peasants would gladly hang you by your thumbs and then flay the meat from your bones to feed to the tigers. You offered them a solution and instead managed to destroy priceless ancient items!’_

“For which I apologized profusely and offered to repair, but the Chinese Ministry of Magical Antiquities and Mysteries asked me to leave the country at which point I assumed that they would repair the damage.”

_‘You assume too much! You acted too little and now centuries of artifacts are in ruins.’_

“The beasts that I was asked to handle were a bit different than what they were described as.”

_‘How were they different?’_

“They were much larger than described and highly magical rather than possessing vestigial magical abilities. It is no wonder that there was damage because they were as big as a house! I was expecting to deal with creatures the size of a Bowtruckle.”

_‘Excuses! Always with you it is excuses! Now you deal with more Chinese creatures and I doubt that you are ready for things such as these.’_

“They are Scathlings, aren’t they?”

The old man paused for a moment and then nodded solemnly before stepping forward and hugging Newt with a smile on his face. All around the pair were stunned when Newt returned the hug with a smile of his own as the pair broke into laughter.

“It is so good to see you Master Qin!”

_‘I am pleased to see you as well, Newt Scamander!’_

“Would you like to see the artifacts that we have from the beasts?”

_‘I would indeed.’_

The others in the great hall could only watch as Newt and the old man, who was clearly more than he appeared to be, walked back to the office that had been assigned to the investigation. The shell fragments and vial of dust made the eyes of the visitor widen and he nodded.

_‘These are indeed artifacts of what you suspect! But there is something curious about the shell fragments. I have never seen script on them such as is on these,’_ Feng Qin announced as he held one in his hand. _‘I believe that these shells belong to a form of Scathling that has been long considered extinct. We can only hope that they are not such because they are more magical than their cousins and able to reproduce without a mate. They are also far more aggressive and they are said to have enjoyed killing for sport.’_

“Then they are going to be harder to kill,” Newt said glumly.

_‘No, they are far easier to kill but, if they are what I believe that they are, it presents us with a problem. If they are the rare type of Scathling they are protected by the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880. This act protects them from magical harm and gives them endangered status. As such they cannot be hunted or harmed regardless of their activities.’_

“Then if we cannot hunt them or harm them, the city will be lost and perhaps the rest of the continent. They will spread and destroy every living thing that they encounter.”

_‘Perhaps not all is lost, Newt, your President Picquery could petition the International Confederation of Wizards for permission to contain these creatures. They could then be hunted for the purpose of placing them in a preserve where they could live yet not harm other species.’_

Newt brightened at the thought and then reached up to run his fingers through his hair.

“That is a wonderful idea, Master Qin, but the process of getting permission could take time that we do not have. We have until the end of the month to deal with this problem before the No-Maj authorities begin an investigation of their own. Once they do that I am afraid that the casualties will be horrific because they will be presenting easy prey to these beasts.”

_‘Then we must have the International Confederation of Wizards move with all due haste.’_

Newt nodded silently before turning to the door that they had used to enter the room. He opened it to find Seraphina Picquery standing on the other side of it with her hand extended as if to open the portal.

“Madam President, Master Qin has informed me of the dire situation that we are and also that he has a mission that only you can perform.”

“Would that mission involve petitioning the International Confederation of Wizards, in particular Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore? This appeared on in the air in front of me only seconds ago,” the tall ebony witch said as she held out a piece of parchment.

Newt didn’t take the time to read the parchment, but nodded numbly as the witch in front of him smiled and then vanished with a POP. He knew that very soon President Picquery would be speaking to the one wizard who had tried to help him before his expulsion from Hogwarts. He had nothing but the highest regard for Dumbledore and often thought about his former professor when a difficult situation confronted him. Certainly there had been very few situations more difficult than this.

Feng Qin looked at the pieces of shell once again as he closely examined the script. The shell was complete except for the fact that it was in pieces. This meant that if the pieces were reassembled he could read the ancient inscription that covered it.

He had fought Scathlings before and it was never a pleasant experience. The creatures were small, fast and highly magical, not to mention fierce and merciless. They went into a fight intending to win and used everything that they knew to do so. It had been a Scathling attack which had cost him the power to speak. The encounter had taught him and the group that was with him that the beasts were not to be followed into dark, confined spaces. Two wizards had lost their lives in the fight and, even though they had won, the survivors had never forgotten the terror of the experience.

He was more frightened about the possible confrontation than he cared to admit. If these were the ancient Scathlings they were far more dangerous that their relatives and many were likely to lose their lives. The Obliviator squads that the president was deploying were doing a wonderful job of removing memories of the attacks from the minds of the non-magical people of the city and soon all knowledge would be erased. But if the infestation could not be contained there was nothing certain about the outcome and memory of it.

Seraphina Picquery stood in the center of the council chamber of the International Confederation of Wizards as members of that body began to enter the room. She felt uneasy as she remembered the one time that she had been in the chamber of the Wizengamot during a trial. Her father had brought her along while he testified during a trial and she had never forgotten the experience. Slowly the seats that surrounded the floor filled with wizards and witches, some of whom were world renowned while others were more obscure. Even so, she felt uneasy and it must have shown as Supreme Mugwump Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore entered the chamber to proceed to his chair while all present rose until he was seated. As the members of the council sat down President Picquery remained standing, even though a chair had appeared for her use.

“Madam President, it is most pleasant to see you here before us, but I know that this is not done on a whim and that you must have something that demands our attention.”

“Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore, esteemed members of the council, I come before you because the city of New York and indeed our world is in danger.”

There was a low rush of whispers among the members of the council as the President of the MACUSA spoke.

“What sort of danger are you referring to, Madam President?”

“The city of New York has been invaded by creatures from China known as Scathlings. These creatures are highly magical and are suspected in the killings of several No-Maj. We have been able to prevent this information from spreading to the population but in a few days the No-Maj president will order an investigation, at the urging of the Second Salemers, which could reveal the existence of our world.”

“What would you have the council do about this matter?”

“These creatures are protected from hunting by the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880 and we need that act lifted in order that they can be hunted. We do not intend to kill them, but instead remove them from the city to relocate them to a place where they will represent a threat to no one.”

The formerly low whispers increased in volume as the members of the council spoke to each other. Seraphina Picquery realized at that moment that, while she had allies in the council who agreed with her, she also had opponents. There were wizards and witches that vehemently opposed event the relocation of magical creatures regardless of the threat that they imposed. She watched as the brow of Albus Dumbledore furrowed before he raised his wand, placed it next to his throat and then spoke.

“ALL WILL COME TO ORDER!”

The open conversations died as their leader spoke and all eyes turned to him.

“Madam President Picquery, can this council be assured that no harm shall come to these magical beasts if this Act is lifted? It was put into place for the protection of magical blood regardless of what type of veins it is flowing through.”

“No, Supreme Mugwump, I cannot make that assurance.”

“Then the Act cannot be suspended.”

“Supreme Mugwump, what of the loss of non-magical life and the potential for the exposure of our world if these creatures are permitted to remain free? The president of the No-Maj government will order an investigation which will expose our world. Once that exposure occurs it shall be impossible to counter it and all that we have built over the centuries shall be lost.”

The low mumble occurred again as members of the council considered what the witch before them was saying. The debate grew louder as proponents and opponents of the proposal bickered and even Albus Dumbledore was involved in the arguments. Finally one of the older members of the gathered magical world spoke aloud.

“Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore, it is clear that a true menace faces our world as well as that of the Muggles. Should we fail to act these creatures shall continue as they have and our world will be exposed. We do not have to think back far to remember the trials at Salem and now the descendants of those responsible for those horrific acts as well as their followers shall move once again against us. We shall see magical blood spilled as well as that of the non-magical. Is the relocation of these creatures such a large price to pay to avoid a war which will consume this world? Can we stand by and do nothing while the citizens of that city are in peril? I say that we lift the Act of 1880 long enough for the creatures to be contained and moved!”

“Do you then make a motion to that effect?”

“I do! I move that we suspend the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880. This should include only the city of New York and the surrounding area and allow only the non-lethal hunting of the magical beasts called Scathlings. I further move that those creatures be moved to a location where they can live their lives without possibility of harm or exposure to non-magical folk.”

“I second that motion,” a tall thin witch said from across the aisle.

Albus Dumbledore sighed and then spoke once again.

“It has been moved and seconded that we, the International Confederation of Wizards, suspend the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880. All in favor of carrying out this suspension signify by raising your hand.”

Seraphina Picquery held her breath as hands rose and then were counted. A moment later the call for dissenting votes was made and a different group of hands rose to be tallied. Albus Dumbledore, who had not yet voted, looked around the room again before speaking.

“We appear to have a tie and that shall mean a discussion. If, at the end of the discussion, we have not reached a consensus then I shall cast my vote.”

“But while you are debating the vote, New York and our world hang in the balance.”

“Yes, Madam President Picquery, but we cannot make this decision lightly regardless of the potential cost.”

“How long will the discussion take?”

“We shall move with all due haste, but I have to tell you that the last debate lasted for nearly a month and it was a short one.”

“What of the people of New York, both magical and non-magical?”

“I would advise you to do whatever you can to keep the creatures in check and the population safe.”

A moment later, President Seraphina Picquery found herself back in the MACUSA Headquarters as Newt and Feng Qin walked towards her swiftly. She knew what they were going to ask her and what her answer had to be.

“Madam President, did the members of the Confederation give you an answer?”

“They did, Mister Scamander, they did indeed give us and answer.”

“What did they say?

Seraphina Picquery stood silently for a moment before speaking words that Newt had not expected.

“We are on our own.”


	8. A Dangerous Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scathlings demonstrate a terrible weapon at their disposal and the International Confederation of Wizards takes action.

The pair of Aurors, investigating a strange occurrence, stepped warily into a ramshackle structure that appeared to be ready to collapse. They had been informed that a suspected incursion into the No-Maj neighborhood had been registered and had been dispatched to the area.

Neither of them realized that they were being watched and, although they were both highly experienced in what they did, both were nervous. All of their number had been informed about the nature of the creatures that they were on the lookout for and didn’t look forward to encountering the menacing beasts.

“Do you see anything over there, Marcus?”

“If there was something here it is gone now. I think that this was a wasted trip.”

“I say that we give it another look and then head back.”

The other Auror nodded and the pair began to poke deeper into the bowels of the structure. A more careful search revealed a door which led to the basement of the building. Finding that it was not locked and that magic would not be needed to open it, the larger of the two Aurors decided to employ a No-Maj technique for dealing with stuck doors. He shoved against it hard and was rewarded with the barrier falling off of its hinges and sliding part way down the stairs behind it.

“ _Lumos Maxima!_ ”

The wand of the Auror instantly emitted a brilliant light which dispelled the shadows of the dark stairway. Wand at the ready, the Auror in the lead walked carefully down the stairs with his companion following closely. They reached the bottom of the stairs and then split to explore the dark basement unaware that they were not alone.

The small grey beast watched the pair with horrible red eyes that missed nothing. Unlike the beings above, it realized, the pair was more than capable of defending themselves and it was alone. While it knew that others of its kind were in the building and would move to help it bring down these intruders it also knew that it would take time for help to arrive. As it was, one of the intruders was between it and escape as well as moving towards the spot where it was hidden. The brilliant light that their wands emitted was painful to its eyes and it attempted to move back further into the shadows to escape it. As it moved backwards it accidently brushed against a jar that was leaning precariously on a rotting shelf, causing the vessel to tumble off of the space that it had occupied and fall to the floor.

The crash of the breaking glass both startled the creature and alerted the Aurors.

“Marcus, was that on your side?”

“No, I think it was closer to you.”

The pair moved in the direction of the noise while the creature attempted to find an escape route. Blocked by the approaching Aurors it prepared to do the only thing that it could, it prepared to attack.

As the pair of Aurors neared it, the creature flexed its terrible claws and then leapt at the closest of the pair. Instantly it sank teeth and claws into the leg of the wizard and was repaid with a strike from a curse which flung it across the room to collide with a wall. It collapsed to the floor stunned and, as they approached their inert opponent, the Aurors were attacked by six of the creatures that flung themselves at the wizards from above and behind.

The stunned creature shook its head and then rose to face the men who were busy dealing with its fellows and then leapt at the wizard that it could reach.

_“Avada Kedavra!”_

Instantly the Killing Curse lit the room with a baleful green light and the beast, struck in mid-flight, collapsed to the floor and did not move again. Realizing that they were in danger of being overwhelmed the Aurors began to retreat to the stairs and then work their way up it as the wizard that was backing up the stairs prepared to deal a blow to the mob of beasts that was closing on them.

_“Confringo!”_

The basement of the building was suddenly engulfed in flames as the Aurors, covered with bites and claw marks disapparated from the scene. Screeches of pain and rage echoed from the basement of the structure just before it tumbled into the inferno below. A number of the creatures managed to vanish down the escape route that had been before them while many others would perish in the blaze. Far below the city screams of rage echoed as the loss of so many at one time was felt by the collective.

Despite the losses that they had suffered, however, the creatures now knew that they could strike at the members of the magical community just as easily as they could at the mundane. They just had to be smarter about it and use more stealth when approaching the wizards and witches.

Newt could only watch as the pair of bloodied Aurors entered the MACUSA headquarters. They had obviously been in a fight and he hoped that they had learned something that could be useful about their opponents.

He hurried to follow the pair to the Hospital Wing and was soon sitting down on a stool while they were being treated.

“Did you actually see them?”

“We saw them all right, Mister Scamander! They are vicious little buggers and they are not afraid of us or magic. We only got out of it because Daniel blasted them with Confringo, if he had not we would have been goners. Of course, that means that none of the evidence that we need is available. The building went up right after we left and was in the process of burning to the ground when we appeared across the street. We stood and watched as several of them tried to escape and then were swallowed by the fire. If any did get out it could not have been many.”

“Could they have gotten out some other way?”

“I guess that it could be possible.”

“Great Merlin’s Beard!” a surprised yell interrupted them.

Newt and the Auror that he was speaking to turned to see the healer who was tending to a rather nasty bite on the leg of the second Auror recoil in horror. As he did so the Auror fell backwards onto the bed and began to convulse violently as green pustules began to appear on his face and other exposed skin. The pustules continued to grow and multiply as the convulsions increased in violence until the healer had to cast a charm on the stricken man to keep him on the bed.

A moment later, Newt watched as the Auror that he had been speaking to started to convulse as well. Horrible green pustules with a foul odor began to spread over the body of the man as he writhed on the bed that he lay upon. A hastily cast charm held him in place while the pustules rapidly covered his flesh.

Healers rushed into the chamber and Newt found himself pushed aside as the medical personnel did all that they could for the distressed men. The first Auror began to scream in agony as the flesh began to melt from bones and then flow down off of the bed onto the floor. It was over almost as fast as it had begun as the victim ceased moving and breathing at about the same moment. The exposed skeleton and organs of the man crumbled to bits that lay scattered over the sheets until they also vanished leaving nothing to remain.

The second man fared no better and soon only the badly stained sheets and a horrible odor remained to remind others of their passing. Seraphina Picquery, Feng Qin and a number of Ministry employees entered the room so that each could see what had already been imagined. They had all known that the creatures could kill with magic and now it seemed that the bites and scratches also were deadly.

“Our wands may protect us from their magic, but I have no idea what can prevent this from happening,” the healer in charge said solemnly.

“Master Qin, do you have any ideas about what to do in response to this new development?”

Qin looked at Newt with sad eyes as he shook his head.

_‘I have seen this result before but did not know what had caused it. These creatures were known to be deadly but no one imagined this sort of danger when they were studied. Obviously they are armed with a type of flesh destroying venom that can be transmitted either through bite or claw.’_

“Do they retain the ability to destroy flesh magically as they did while they were in the egg?”

_‘Unfortunately, yes, these beasts are highly magical in nature and once mature become more so.’_

“It appears then that we must be even more cautious that we initially believed. They have managed to kill two of our most experienced Aurors and probably would have killed more had they had the opportunity,” Seraphina Picquery announced.

“We need to determine what their weaknesses are,” Newt mumbled abruptly. “Surely they have some weaknesses. Certainly they are susceptible to fire, but we cannot use that in a city largely built with wood.”

“We also need to consider the constraints that we are under,” Picquery said swiftly. “The Supreme Mugwump was quite clear. These beasts are protected from hunting for the purpose of killing them. If we can manage to capture them without harming them then we can petition the council for their relocation to a safe environment.”

_‘These creatures are highly intelligent, Madame President, a simple trap will not work. It is imperative that we determine how to best capture them without harming them or putting ourselves in jeopardy.’_

While the discussion continued in the Hospital Wing of the MACUSA headquarters Albus Dumbledore sat in his chair at the center of the Wizengamot council circle while the debate ensued.

“The capture of the Scathlings is imperative! To allow them to run free and menace two populations is ludicrous. It was just reported that two Aurors have been killed by them which means loss of magical blood and a blow to our world.”

“Augustus, how can we be certain that the creatures can be captured without harming them or exposing our world. If either thing happened the results would be catastrophic! Already both sides of this struggle have struck a blow as wizarding and Scathling lives have been lost.”

A tall thin wizard who had been silent up to this point finally broke into the discussion.

“I was in New York the last time that magical beasts were at large. It was only by the fact that Scamander had the use of the Firebird that we were able to avert a calamity. We lack that tool now and unless we can determine a way to obliviate the memories of the citizens of that city we will be exposed and many No-Maj will die.”

“Do we want to oblviate their memory? Taking away the realization that they are in danger would result in the deaths of many whose sole crime is the fact that they live in that particular city.”

“The No-Maj government shall soon order an investigation into the happenings in New York! Once they do that it is only a matter of time before they discover our world and then war will erupt. They have tried to destroy our kind many times over the centuries,” the witch who was speaking said as her voice quavered. “My great-great grandmother was burned at Salem, so why should we help them? To protect what we have from discovery and destruction!”

“Are you suggesting that we allow the No-Maj inhabitants of the city of New York to be obliterated by these beasts?”

“Would it be such a loss?”

“We are talking about millions of lives and the almost certain discovery of our civilization in the process.”

Helen Skeeter rose to face the wizard that was speaking as her normally pale face became ruddy with anger. She was normally one of the silent members of the council, but now her ire had been raised.

“We can insulate our world from this! Certainly Muggles have never discovered Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, Ilvermorny or any of the other magical schools. Muggles are essentially blind to all but what is right in front of their noses and they miss even much of that. Is the loss of a Muggle city truly that large a price to pay?”

“This council will not permit the deaths of so many if we can prevent it,” Dumbledore finally roared as the debating pair reclaimed their seats. “A request was made of this council by the President of MACUSA and it is not an unreasonable one. They do not intend to kill the creatures, merely capture and relocate them. The deaths of the Aurors were unfortunate, but they also serve to prove that we are not invulnerable to these small menaces. If the Scathlings are not stopped in New York they shall spread over the entire globe, moving from continent to continent, as they consume every living thing in their path.”

“Supreme Mugwump, I fear that your hesitance to deny the request made to us stems from the fact that Newt Scamander is involved! This council is quite aware that you attempted to stop his expulsion from Hogwarts after the endangerment of other students by a beast in his possession. I feel that Mister Scamander is not up to the task that he is in and that he should be removed from it,” a tall wizard with long, pale hair and piercing blue eyes cut in.

“Mister Malfoy, as you are not a voting member of this council I shall ask you to restrain your comments.”

“You dare to presume to tell me that I have no say in these matters just because I live in Great Britain? You yourself just said that these creatures shall spread to other continents and, as I own a sizable estate, I would rather prefer not to wake up some morning as a horde of these creatures pour over the countryside. Newt Scamander is incompetent and needs to be removed if not restrained by the Aurors and sent to Azkaban.”

A rush of conversation took place as the wizard remained standing to confront the Supreme Mugwump. They knew of very few witches or wizards that had the courage to face the leader of the governing council of their world with defiance as apparent as what was being shown at that moment. Albus Dumbledore was known widely for his sense of generosity and understanding, but even he could be pushed too far.

“Mister Malfoy, Newton Scamander has the full confidence of this assembly and shall remain where he is and in the capacity that he currently fills. We determine what roles are played and by whom and do not need your unasked for solutions to problems that do not exist. Now, if you wish to stay and listen to our discussion you are more than welcome to, but I shall ask you to remain silent or leave.”

The assembly watched as the visitor slowly gathered his belongings and then stalked away from where he had been seated. As he reached the door to the chamber he turned to glare at Dumbledore.

“It is no wonder that education at Hogwarts has declined if they keep the likes of you on staff, Professor Dumbledore.”

The pale wizard strode out of the room followed by a rush of whispered conversation.

“The question before us remains, Supreme Mugwump! Do we allow the hunting of the Scathlings for their relocation or allow a major No-Maj city to be annihilated?”

“While I fear the ramifications of both courses of action I believe that we must act to secure the safety of both our world and that of the No-Maj citizens of New York while also protecting the Scathlings. If they can be hunted and trapped for relocation to a safe place then I say that we allow it to prevent the loss of more magical blood.”

Albus Dumbledore thought for a moment as he considered the debate that had been raging for days about the matter. It seemed as it had been only yesterday that Seraphina Picquery had appeared before them to plea for action when in actuality it had been over a week.

There had been several instances of activity since the President of MACUSA had stood before the assembly to ask for help and now, with the deaths of the pair of Aurors and several Scathlings, the situation had become grave. It was obvious that the assembly was severely divided on the course of action that needed to take place and he was very certain about the results of the vote that he would soon call for, but something had to be done and soon.

“Do I hear a motion for a vote for course of action?”

“I move that we vote to determine whether to temporarily lift the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880 to allow the non-lethal hunting of the Scathlings in New York. The results of that hunting shall be that the captured Scathlings be transported to a safe location where they can be protected from interaction with No-Maj and Magical folk alike while also protecting No-Maj and Magical folk from harm inflicted by the Scathlings.”

“I second the motion.”

“Very well, it has been moved to temporarily lift the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880 for the purpose of the non-lethal hunting of the Scathlings in New York City and its surrounding area. All in favor of allowing this action raise your hand.”

A sea of hands rose and Dumbledore acted swiftly to count them before continuing.

“All opposed to this course of action raise your hand.”

He counted once again before settling back down into the chair that he had risen from.

“The vote has once again resulted in a tie and, as we have voted twelve times on different courses of action and all votes have ended in a tie, I shall cast my vote. I vote to the affirmative with one amendment that I feel highly necessary and pertinent. I move that we permit the killing of Scathlings that represent an immediate threat of harm or death to No- Maj or Magical folk.”

“I second that motion.”

“Very well, all in favor of the amendment raise your hand.”

Once again the wizard counted hands and then smiled as he realized that a second vote would not be necessary.

“The motion passes and the International Magical Beast Protection Act of 1880 shall be temporarily lifted with the amendment that Scathlings which pose an immediate threat of death or injury to No-Maj or Magical folk may be killed if deemed necessary.”

He turned to the thin witch next to him and spoke quietly.

“Please dispatch a House elf messenger with this news to the Headquarters of MACUSA. President Picquery needs to be informed as swiftly as possible about the course of action that we have taken.”

“Yes, Supreme Mugwump, I shall see to it immediately,” the witch responded before diapparating.

Feng Qin stood in front of the window as he peered out at the scene below him. To the non- magical citizens the possibility of another world inhabiting the same space at the same time that they did would not have seemed possible and would have brought the probability of not only wide spread panic but war as well. It had happened that way in China many centuries before and many had perished on both sides.

That had happened in the days of swords, bows and primitive gunpowder, but the weapons that the No-Maj possessed now would certainly present a problem for the denizens of the Wizarding World and create widespread destruction. The magical folk would respond with all of their might and ability which would mean devastation and then there were the Scathlings to consider.

The small menaces would swiftly move to take advantage of the war between the two factions and would inflict terrible casualties on both sides. Many would die in the fight, but the Scathlings had the advantage of stealth and unpredictability. They would overwhelm the non-magical with their skills and then turn on the wizards with stealth and terrible magic that all but the most insane wizard feared to employ.

The great cities of the world would fall as their inhabitants died and soon become overgrown with vegetation. Then the Scathlings would assume their place as the rulers of the planet. They had tried this once before and now Newton Scamander, Feng Qin and Albus Dumbledore wondered if they might not be successful this time.


	9. A Glimmer of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a failed attack by the Scathlings, have the forces of Newt Scamander and MACUSA truly found the answer?

“ _No Me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

The words that echoed in the cavernous chamber rose in intensity until they were nearly thunderous. The creatures, now dozens in number, crowded around a raised area which was composed of gathered debris where one of their own, much larger than the rest, stood. It looked around the chamber while its subordinates chanted over and over again.

It tilted its head back and then screeched loudly, an act which brought the others to complete silence. They all knew what had to be done, they had done it many times before in the long history of their kind, but never before had they faced an enemy such as this one. The few Chinese that they had encountered with magical abilities had given them some concern, but these wizards and witches were more numerous and had inflicted casualties that they had not expected.

These non-magical folk also were far more dangerous than the Chinese had been. They held no reverence for the beasts that they faced and had far more dangerous weapons than the Chinese peasants had possessed. They were facing a nearly combined enemy which would present a far greater problem than any before them.

Newt Scamander stood at the scene of the latest incursion where several No-Maj had been killed. Thankfully, an Obliviator team had been able to remove the memories of the incident and restore the damage to the buildings, but several No-Maj transients would never greet the sunlight again. Their lives had been cruelly snuffed out.

“How many died here?”

The Auror that stood next to Newt looked at him with sad eyes before responding.

“Twelve.”

“Were there any children among them?”

“There were children here, but they seem unaffected by the Scathling attacks.”

“Children were here, but not affected?”

Newt’s mind raced for a moment and then he asked another question.

“How old were the children?

“Oh, I would say that none of them were older than ten years old, why?”

“I think that people under the age where they begin to mature are not affected. The Scathling killed by the No-Maj boy supports this idea. That child was only eight years old and yet was able to attack the Scathling egg with impunity. It may not be a weakness, but it will prevent a terrible tragedy.”

“At least with the ban on hunting them lifted we can concentrate on capturing them and relocating them.”

“I sincerely hope that it is that easy.”

The pair vanished with a POP just before a police officer entered the vacant area and stood there with a puzzled look on his face. Normally the area would be teeming with life, but it was empty and he wondered where its inhabitants had made off to. He looked around for a moment and then walked away to return to his beat. He would put the situation out of his mind for the most part, the area was only his concern when something was stolen by one of its inhabitants and the owner wanted the item back.

As he walked along his travel path he became aware of a strange sound that seemed to emanate from a storm drain. He slowed his pace to stop at the entrance to that place and carefully listen. A sound not unlike a group of people chanting became audible only to cease when a horrible screech sounded. He jumped slightly and then moved closer once again to listen to whatever was happening below his feet. His senses already heightened, he caught sight of stealthy movement in an alley to his right and he carefully reached down to remove his pistol from its holster before turning towards the movement.

A small, shadowy figure was creeping towards him and, at first, he took the creature for a dog which was afflicted with some sort of terrible disease but as it drew nearer he realized it was not. Terrible red eyes glared at him as the thing moved in his direction. He watched as it moved into a position from which it could spring at him and then raised his weapon as it leapt.

The Scathling had been on the hunt for food and mistook the police officer for someone that would be easy prey. As it sprang towards the human the man raised his arm and a very loud sound coupled with a bright flash stunned it a moment before the bullet smashed through its chest. Hurled backwards, the Scathling crashed against a building and fell to the floor of the alley before rising again.

The policeman, uncertain of what he was dealing with, fired again and was rewarded when the thing fell face down in the alley and ceased movement a second before melting into black dust. The amazed officer replaced his weapon in its holster and then approached the remains of his assailant as a crowd began to gather to see what was going on. A pile of black dust was all that remained of the creature and, after nudging the substance around with his foot, the officer left the alley to continue on while the confused crowd dispersed.

Under the street, the large creature staggered as though struck as green ichor oozed from a wound that had just appeared on it. There were a number of wounds on the creature and each one angered the beast as they festered. It roared its anger once again and then the others around it sprang to escape its presence while hundreds of green spheres remained tucked on crevices around the chamber, some of them ablaze with unborn life while others were inert, having a very different reason for being. This nest, as with the others like it, existed for a reason and now that reason was being realized. The Scathlings were mobilizing for war and it would be the most challenging one that they had ever fought.

Newt, having returned to his office, glanced at the map just as the incident in the alley was recorded. The notation next to the symbol indicated the destruction of one of the beasts and no loss of No-Maj life. It saddened him that the magical beast had been destroyed as he knew that he could never knowingly kill a magical being, but he rejoiced at the thought that non-magical life had been spared and that one less opportunity for the exposure of their world existed.

Feng Qin stepped into the office as Newt straightened from the map.

_‘A No-Maj has managed to kill one of the Scathlings with one of their weapons, has he?’_

“You know about that, Master Qin?”

_‘Once you learn to use your mind instead of relying only on your physical senses, you shall be able to learn much about the world around you before others do! Of course I know about it, Newt.’_

“I’ve learned a lot about the little blighters today! They cannot kill children who have not yet begun to mature. They attacked a transient camp and only adults were affected, the children were left unharmed.”

_‘We learned that very fact years ago, but it did not seem relevant until now. Children have an innate defense against their magical weapon, but I do not know how they would respond to the venom of these creatures. I am not much in the mood to find out the answer to that question given what we saw after the Aurors were bitten and scratched. I do not believe that I could bear to watch a young one die in such a horrible manner.’_

“Their attacks will increase in frequency and intensity?”

_‘Yes, I am afraid that they will. They will begin by targeting our kind, I believe, and then they will move on to the non-magical residents of this city. While they will lose many of their number scores more shall be born to replace their losses and they can replace losses much more swiftly than we can.’_

“Then it becomes a battle of numbers.”

_‘I am afraid so, a battle that we shall be hard pressed to win.’_

“I refuse to believe that we cannot find some way to prevail in this fight. There must be something that we are missing!”

_‘We know that they are not harmed by water or sunlight, but are by fire. Obviously we cannot burn down the city to eliminate them, which we are forbidden to anyhow. There must be another way and we must endeavor to learn what this way is.’_

In an abandoned house many blocks away, a number of Scathlings had come upon an old man who had taken refuge within the structure. The old man had awakened to find the creatures approaching him and had then run from room to room in an effort to escape them. Finally he was cornered in a room and could only huddle in a corner as the quartet of beasts moved towards him. As he prayed what he assumed would be his last prayer he reached for the only weapon that he could see and held the mirror before him as a shield against the inevitable. He clenched his eyes tightly as he prepared for teeth to sink into his flesh and when he reopened them the creatures were nowhere to be seen. The old man rose from where he had huddled, put the mirror aside carefully and then quickly and quietly made his way out of the house quite aware that should he say anything that he would be taken as mad and put in the asylum that served the insane of the area.

As he walked away from the building he didn’t look back or even think about the escape that he had made. In the back of his mind, however, he wondered where the creatures had gone and what had frightened them away from what he had assumed would be his certain horrible death. His future once clouded by doubt would benefit from the experience and he would soon stand before a congregation at a church which had not seen him for a very long time as he spoke about the power of prayer in times of need.

Newt knew about none of this but continued to wonder what tools they had at their disposal that would aid in dealing with this menace.

_‘It has to be something that will not harm them but will hold them at bay or even capture them. At the same time we have to be certain that it will not harm the No-Maj or us while we use it. Can we fool them into thinking that we have not reached maturity so that we can gain the protection that children have. What is the answer?’_

Deep underground the large Scathling had collapsed in what appeared to be a seizure and the creatures that surrounded him were nearly insane with fear. Their gathering swiftly dissolved into a frenzy and it was not until their leader recovered that they regained some semblance of order. As their leader rose unsteadily to its feet they realized that somehow the beings above them had managed to strike a blow. A single screech from the large being sent dozens of the creatures scurrying away from the gathering, through the labyrinth of pipes and finally out into the sunshine to begin their assault.

The invasion was not a complete surprise as witches and wizards, who had been waiting for it to occur, watched the small beings emerge from their dark tunnels. They wasted no time in sending a frantic message to MACUSA.

**The creatures are flooding into the streets! We have run out of time and need to act swiftly or all will be lost.**

The effect of the message was immediate as witches and wizards hurried to prepare for the battle that they knew was coming and wondered how many of them would not survive the coming fight. Newt Scamander and Feng Qin gathered what they had as they joined the masses that were, even now, disapparating to get to where they were needed.

_‘Newton, I wish you all of the very best as we prepare for what is coming.’_

“I do the same for you, Master Qin.”

If the wizards and witches were expecting a battle ready force to oppose them they were happily mistaken. As swiftly as the creatures left the alleys from the West they began to shriek and then vanish back into the darkness. The forces that had been arrayed against them stood puzzled as many of their opponents scurried back into the alleys from which they had come while others stood as if frozen in place before vanishing without a sound. Witches and wizards emerged cautiously into the open to advance on positions that they had not controlled before and swiftly realized that the battle had ended before it had begun. But the question in all of their minds was just how it had ended.

All over the city the forces of MACUSA moved carefully to take territory that they had assumed was lost. Just as swiftly they took care to be certain that the No-Maj population had come through the situation unmolested by the creatures. All about them the No-Maj moved about their business, unaware that their lives and way of life had just been spared.

Newt watched as several of the non-magical folk moved about and wondered just what had happened. Not only were they unaware that anything had happened, but they were unharmed as well. He glanced at Feng Qin and could see the amused grin that the ancient man wore.

“What did you do, Master Qin? Are you responsible for the No-Maj being unaware of what happened?”

_‘Long ago in China, something very similar to this happened and we feared panic among the population that is non-magical. We discovered a way to eliminate the awareness of them and prevent mass hysteria. Now I have used that spell and prevented chaos, which would have killed many in the rush to escape.’_

“And the Scathlings, did you make them go back to their tunnels?”

_‘No, that is as mysterious to me as it is to you. I do not know why they went back into the darkness of the tunnels. They have never shown fear of the light before. Just as mysterious are the Scathlings that froze before us and then vanished. We must examine the scenes and determine what happened to the creatures that disappeared. This unusual and unexpected development may be a glimmer of hope for both our world and that of the No-Maj.’_

The pair of wizards stepped slowly out into the street where they had seen several Scathlings vanish and looked around for signs of their opponents. They could see nothing, no trace at all, not even a pinch of the black powder that resulted from the deaths of the creatures.

The street was just as chaotic as normal with No-Maj walking to and fro while their vehicles made their way through the crowded streets. Nothing appeared to be out of order, there were no screams of panicked discovery of the disappearance of loved ones and no frantic evacuations of structures which had been overrun by the beasts. Everything seemed to be as it was intended to be and this mystified the wizards and witches that had come to the defense of the city and its inhabitants.

Newt and Feng Qin continued their investigation for a while longer and saw only the reflections of passersby on the windows of the structures that faced the direction of the sun as the No-Maj went about their daily lives.

The creatures that had returned to the tunnels and chambers below the city gathered around the large beast that led them. They had suffered a devastating defeat and had not managed to inflict any damage upon their enemies. It was obvious that the beings above had developed a weapon against them and nothing could infuriate them more than this.

The large beast slowly recovered from the spasms that it had suffered with the loss of so many of its followers. It rose unsteadily to its feet as its subordinates fussed about. They did all in their power to comfort their alpha and only when it finally tired of their presence and screeched out its irritation did they scurry away into the darkness. As they fled into the darkness one emotion consumed their thoughts: fear.

Their rise to dominance was threatened now because, without the essence of their victims, they could not nourish their eggs and produce new life. Already many of the normally pale green eggs were showing signs of stress and darkening in color. This frightened the creatures which oversaw the nursery caves, they would be held responsible should the eggs begin to perish and would find themselves being used to nourish their unborn young.

The threat diminished for now activity at MACUSA settled back into a normal pace and the teams assigned to countering the Scathlings went back to planning their next moves. One thing was certain, something had stopped the attack and they needed to determine what it had been. They had a weapon that was useful in their situation and could only hope that the Scathlings did not find a way around it.

Newt stepped to the window of the room that he was using as an office and stared down at the streets far below. As he looked down at the No-Maj that were going about their business he had to squint as the sunlight reflected off of the glass in the windows of the building across the street from the one that he was in. He turned away from the window to return to the table where reports about the strange occurrence of the day were appearing.

His staff was busy sorting the reports and he found that a strange pattern was materializing. The creatures that had simply vanished had all been in streets that went from north to south. They all had windows on the west side of the buildings and the sun had been shining into those windows. The creatures which had simply gone back underground had not been on streets of that fashion, they had simply had to face sunlight. As he read the reports that all said the same thing he turned back to the window where the reflections on the windows across the street were changing. They were not the same as they had been when the Scathlings had emerged from the ground and a thought began to grow in his mind.

“Reflections,” he said to himself.

_‘I am sorry, Newton, did you say something?’_

“Reflections, the sun was shining into the windows on the streets and the Scathlings on those streets simply vanished as though they had never been. Could that be the answer to our dilemma?”

Feng Qin looked up sharply at the wizard who towered over him and then turned to look out through the window at the building across the street. He realized at that moment that Newt had proposed something that he had never considered. A dim memory surfaced and his eyes opened widely as he turned back to Newt Scamander.

_‘During the attack in China many Scathlings simply vanished. I had not considered this important until now, Newton. The Scathlings that vanished were in areas where brightly polished metal lined the walls and created reflections. I believe that somehow they are vulnerable to reflections and we have a weapon that we had not considered.’_

As good as the idea sounded, some things are not as simple as they sound.


	10. What Came Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt gets some of the answers that he needs, but at what cost?

The sudden disappearance of so many of the Scathlings brought a sense of relief to the members of MACUSA as well as Newt Scamander. That relief was tempered by a bit of anxiety, however, as many wondered what was going to happen next.

While it was true that the creatures had clearly diminished in number and that fatalities had been avoided among the No-Maj population, Newt could not help but wonder if it was all truly over. The creatures that they faced were highly magical in nature and very intelligent. What appeared to be a victory for the Wizarding community could easily become a disaster if the creatures were merely in the process of regrouping after their losses.

There was also the possibility that the creatures that had vanished were merely in hiding, although that did not seem likely. There was no reason for the beasts to go into hiding as they had demonstrated their capabilities, not to mention their fearsome weapon. Whatever the reason for their disappearance, all at MACUSA doubled their efforts to prepare for whatever was coming next.

Newt, not for the first time that day, found himself standing at the window as he stared out at the cityscape beyond. The reflections from the windows, as beautiful and dazzling as they were, represented an enigma. What was it about them that had come to the aid of the Wizarding World? Were the Scathlings susceptible to the powers of reflection? If that were so, what had happened to the Scathlings that had vanished? Were they somehow trapped within the glass of the windows that had contained the reflections and should that glass be broken would they be freed? Obviously an experiment in a controlled environment was needed and Newt was anxious to find out the answer to his questions.

He turned away from the window to return to the table where evidence gathered lay displayed. The pieces of orbs, the dark powder and other fragments were scattered across the wooden surface of the piece of furniture and he leaned down to examine the orb fragments and the writing on them. Feng Qin had been unable to decipher the writing and all of the magic that had been cast at them had failed to produce results. It had been hoped that the writing would reveal secrets useful in defeating the creatures but, if it did, the secret was still safely locked away within it.

“What do I need to do to read you,” Newt said softly as he examined a large piece of one of the pale green spheres. “There has to be some way to make you reveal what you are hiding!”

As he surveyed the artifacts he drew his wand and spoke two simple words that he had learned what seemed to him to be ages ago.

_“Wingardium Leviosa!”_

The fragment of the sphere rose slowly into the air which allowed Newt to examine it from all sides. While minor in nature, all who had touched a fragment had experienced side effects and Newt rather preferred not to have to deal with them. The effects had left many wizards and witches with painfully swollen fingers as well as a severe rash on their hands. All of this had appeared within a day or two of handling the pieces and had persisted for nearly three days, at which time the effects had vanished on their own. Although the effects were not permanent or severe in nature, they managed to instill a sense of caution to those who were examining the items. It also brought a question, what were the effects to No-Maj who handled the items and how long did they last? Obviously they needed to locate someone non-magical that had handled the items in order to study the effects upon that person.

“Mister Scamander!”

Newt turned to the source of the voice to see one of the younger wizards, who had been assigned to retrieve a piece of glass and bring it to their office, standing in the door to the office

“I have the piece of glass that you requested and wondered where you wanted it.”

Newt brightened and left the table where the piece of the orb still hung suspended in the air to see the sheet of glass that had been removed from its place hovering behind the wizard who had spoken. He approached it slowly as he examined it for flaws or cracks before turning to the wizard that accompanied it.

“Where did it come from?”

“As requested, Mister Scamander, it faced the East and came from the building across the street from here. We managed to remove and then replace it without attracting the attention of the No-Maj. They walked past us, going about their everyday mundane existence, not even noticing what was going on. Small wonder actually, they are so blind to everything that goes on around them that I believe that we could rearrange the city and they would never catch on!”

“Oh, I think that you are failing to give them the credit that they deserve. They are really quite brilliant, just not gifted as we are. I would actually prefer their company at times to those of our own kind.”

“Perhaps that is why you helped that No-Maj open his bakery! No use in denying it, everyone knows that you did, President Picquery was feeling uncharacteristically generous when she found out about it. There was not an office in this building that did not believe that you would be standing before the Wizengamot for your interference. You actually are quite fortunate that you did not end up in Azkaban.”

Managing to contain his anger Newt looked up from the glass to look into the eyes of the younger wizard.

“Well, Morton, is it not? I believe, if memory serves, that you just finished at Ilvermorny. Am I correct?”

“Yes, I attended school at Ilvermorny, what has that got to do with it all?”

“You can always tell that someone attended school at Ilvermorny. They lack something called courtesy when speaking to someone who might know a little more about things than they do.”

The face of the younger man flushed red with anger and he wasted no time in turning on his heel to stalk away from the still hovering glass and the Magi-zoologist that was examining it. Newt watched as the younger wizard vanished down the corridor before easing the glass into the room and then, before allowing it to settle to the floor, drew his wand and surrounded the item with a magical barrier. He knew that there was a possibility that the Scathlings trapped within the glass, if there were any, might be freed when the glass was shattered and he had no desire to have them loose in the building.

Seraphina Picquery and Feng Qin stepped into the room as Newt prepared for his experiment.

“Mister Scamander, I understand that you and Morton are not getting along,” the tall ebony witch announced.

“We got along wonderfully until he decided to begin stating his opinions about No-Maj.”

“Please refrain from angering staff members, especially ones whose father sits on the council.”

“Madame President, if we cannot contain this outbreak and soon, who sits on the council will be academic. If we cannot stop their advance we shall lose this confrontation and the city as well. I had no intention of angering young Mister Morton, but he rather pressed the issue and had a considerable lack of tact when he did so.”

A curt nod was the only response to his statement and he turned to examine the shield that he had placed around the glass that he was preparing to shatter.

“Do you really expect the trapped Scathlings to be freed when you break that glass, Mister Scamander?”

“I have no idea, Madame President, but I would rather be prepared than not.”

_‘Your preparations are most sensible, Newt. As I have never seen a surface that they have been drawn into broken before we have no way to know what shall happen. I too have no desire to have to face whatever emerges from that glass.’_

Newt gave his friend a grim smile and then turned back to the glass within the shield. A hammer floated within the shield along with the glass and a moment later it swung violently at the glass sheet within the magical sphere. The glass, struck hard by the hammer, exploded into millions of pieces as well as several angered Scathlings that flew free of their prison in an effort to reach and attack the witch and wizards that observed them. The creatures rebounded when they struck the shield and, after expending a great deal of futile rage on the barrier, finally settled down to pacing the perimeter of the space.

“Well, we know that they were trapped by the glass when they were reflected in it and that they can be freed by breaking the glass,” Newt announced slowly. “All that we have to hope for is that none of the glass that still holds them gets shattered.”

“What happens if they discover how to free their missing?”

“Madame President, we can only hope that they do not. They could, if they determine how to release their fellows, attack us when there are no reflections and that would be disastrous.”

“We certainly cannot restrict the movement of so many No-Maj to areas where reflective material exists. How do you propose that we contain these creatures in order to relocate them to a place where they can do no further harm?”

“I have considered that, Madame President, and I have to admit that I am at somewhat of a loss for a solution to the problem that now faces us. Clearly a solution exists, Madame President, we merely need to find it.”

“If there were a way to confine them to the No-Maj sewer system…” Seraphina Picquery began before stopping as she realized how futile a possibility she was suggesting.

“I had considered that, Madame President, but unfortunately the No-Maj could inadvertently release them during maintenance of the tunnels. It would also be devilishly hard to prevent them from discovering that they no longer had access to the tunnels in their entirety should we block parts of them to contain the Scathlings.”

“Mister Scamander, we need to determine a solution to this problem and soon! The No-Maj president will soon move to act on this issue and we cannot delay him for long. Already the Obliviator squads are informing me that they are experiencing increasing difficulties in suppressing the memories of the members of the No-Maj government. Apparently, repeated use of Obliviate on the same somewhat lessens its effectiveness.”

“That seems rather odd. I have never heard of it happening before.”

“Our experts believe that the No-Maj fondness for alcohol is affecting their susceptibility to having their memories blocked.”

“They are rather addicted to the substance,” Newt mused, “if it is blocking the use of Obliviate we may have less time than we believed we had before they become aware of what is occurring in this city.”

We also have to remember that night is coming soon and, with the loss of the sunlight, we lose the reflections. They will strike, Mister Scamander, and they shall strike hard. We certainly cannot use Lumos all night long.”

“It would present a problem.”

Feng Qin’s eyes widened suddenly as he stared at the Scathlings and thought about the comment that had just been made. The light producing spell could not be used all night long but there was something that could be done in its stead.

_‘The No-Maj use the lights from their street lamps to illuminate their city after dark do they not?’_

“Of course they do, Master Qin, but I fail to see how that helps us in this instance.”

‘The use of some discrete magic might make the lights of the city much brighter tonight. With much brighter lights the reflections will remain and hold the creatures at bay, at least for this evening.’

“There will be a lot of very angry No-Maj in the morning if it affects their sleep.”

“At least, Madame President, the very angry No-Maj would be alive. I believe that we need to consider the suggestion that Master Qin has provided. We can divert man power to affect the lights in the way that has been suggested.”

“That buys us time, Mister Scamander, but hours only. We certainly cannot keep an entire No-Maj city lit constantly and indefinitely.”

“I am painfully aware of that Madam President, but I feel that I am getting closer to the solution to our problem. I just need more time to work on it.”

“Very well, Mister Scamander, I shall divert all available personnel to the task. But we need to move with all due haste to end this situation.”

“ _No me_! _No me_! _No Me_! _No Me_! _NO Me!_ _NO Me_! _NO ME_! _NO ME_! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**! **_NO ME_**!”

The witch and wizards turned back to the field that contained the shattered glass and the Scathlings. The creatures had begun to chant and sway as the field around them began to quiver and weaken.

“They are trying to shatter the field and escape!” Seraphina Picquery shouted.

Wands emerged from robes as the witch and wizards moved swiftly to bolster the field that, even as they watched, was beginning to buckle under the assault of the beasts. The field around the creatures fluctuated repeatedly as the opposing forces struggled to gain what they wished. Finally, after a great deal of concentration and effort the field seemed to stabilize and the beasts backed away from its perimeter as they ceased chanting.

Newt, President Picquery and Feng Qin were nearly ready to drop their efforts as well when the largest of the creatures rushed the barrier that held its group captive. The field blazed with light as the conflicting energy fields met and it was soon apparent to the trio that the field was going to fail.

“A mirror, we need a mirror,” Newt yelled as he battled with the collapsing magical field. A young wizard, who had just stepped into the room to determine what the cause of the large amount of noise was, turned and hurried from the room to retrieve a mirror that hung on the wall of the men’s restroom in that corridor. It would seem like hours to Newt before the young wizard returned, triumphantly holding the mirror aloft. He entered the room just as the field around the Scathlings fell and the creatures sprang free on the attack.

“What do you want me to do with this?”

Newt, realizing that they had the one hope, whirled and seized the mirror from the younger man to turn just as the Scathling reached him. The creature, moving too swiftly to stop, suddenly found itself looking into the reflective surface of the mirror and screeched shrilly as it was suddenly dragged into the space beyond the smooth glass. The other Scathlings moved swiftly to escape the presence of the trap but were just as swiftly captured while the people who accompanied Newt stood amazed behind him.

“They really are susceptible to reflections,” Seraphina Picquery said in amazement.

A sudden snarl seized their attention and the group whirled to see a lone Scathling glaring at them from a corner of the room. It made no attempt to advance and instead held its position while it watched the mirror that Newt still held in his hand.

“What are you waiting for, Mister Scamander? Use the mirror to capture the creature!”

“No, wait a minute. This one does not seem to be interested in attacking.”

They watched as the creature slowly settled back onto its haunches while its gaze never left the mirror.

“Can you understand what we are saying?”

The creature lifted its stare to look into the eyes of the wizard who still held the mirror and then nodded slowly.

“Can you speak?”

“Speak your words I can, but not well.”

“We mean you no harm and wish only peace.”

“Wish you peace and yet still you hold out that horrible weapon.”

“I will put down this mirror if that makes you feel calmer. Will you promise not to attack if I lower it?”

“Promise I shall not to attack.”

“Where are you from?”

“The ship brought us to this land, hidden in a box we were by one who failed to understand the nature of what he possessed. He interrupted our slumber and brought us to this place which is not our home. Then many of our kind were separated from the others and we had no choice but to strike. We were taken from the place where our kind has lived for thousands of your centuries. We took only what we needed to keep our eggs alive because the creatures that we have used to do so in our land were not here. Without the sacrifice of the lives of those we have taken our eggs would have died and with them our species. We are all that remains of our kind, the last of uncountable numbers that once ruled a vast domain and then your kind came.”

“Can our kinds live together in peace?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Our leader, the one who commands us, will not permit this. He would have this land for our own for there are enough lives here to enable us to rebuild what we have lost.”

“But for that to happen, others must die. You would have the No-Maj and the magical folk who live here give up their lives and homes for your cause. They will not permit this to happen and many on both sides will die.”

“Yes, many shall die on both sides, but we number many times more than you and will swiftly rebuild our world. Your kind will only exist long enough to serve us and we shall keep only the ones that we need alive until their usefulness is at an end.”

“We will not allow this to happen.”

“You cannot stop it, we shall prevail and your kind shall come to an end.”

Newt watched as the creature slowly relaxed. He carefully lowered the mirror to the floor before settling down onto a chair to face the creature.

“Your kind shall release those of our number that you have trapped in your shiny weapons and then surrender to us. If you refuse to do this we shall destroy all of you regardless of any promises that you make. We shall rule this place and your kind shall join the creatures that it has forced into extinction. You have destroyed many noble creatures and deserve less than they.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This world was once the home of many magnificent creatures that no longer exist. Your kind and the mundane ones that you call No-Maj have destroyed them and left this planet much poorer. Did you not think that one day the true masters of this world would return to take their rightful place?”

“You are talking about the beasts that died because of changes in their environment.”

“Yes, and also those that the No-Maj hunted for sport. They had no idea how they were devastating this planet. You have a council where you decide the fate of things around you, but you failed to consider that you were not alone. We also had a council where we decided the course of lives on this planet and now many of those seats have been empty for centuries. The existence of your kind was allowed to continue, something which was debated strongly and at length, until finally one member of a race which no longer exists convinced us to let you live. The presence of your kind hung by a thread and only his words spared you. Your kind repaid him by destroying him and his kind. I have seen many of these tragedies and yet your kind is blind to all of what it does to others. You have yet to open your eyes and truly see what is around you and now it is too late.”

“But you cannot hold a species responsible for deeds done by those who came before them!”

“They continue even now to decimate the numbers of other species. They are not innocent, Mister Scamander, even now the once teeming cities under your oceans are sparsely inhabited. The No-Maj kill innocent beings whose only crime is to want to live. The actions of the No-Maj reflect what their own fate shall be. Their ships hunt those who live in the sea, those who they believe exist to serve them with their flesh, and fur and fat and then they casually throw what remains back into the sea like so much garbage. They pollute this world with their filth and make it uninhabitable for others. Why should they be permitted to live? They possess nothing that those who have gone before them had.”

“I understand your distress, but the inhabitants of this city and the others like it cannot be expected to step forward to die because of the actions of others. Your cause is noble but we cannot allow you to destroy the lives of so many.”

The creature rose to look around the room and then at the window that graced the wall.

“The sun shall set soon and with it the existence of your society. Our numbers shall emerge and take what you refuse to give. Only the ones who are not mature shall remain and even they shall join their elders soon enough. Now, I would have you release those who were with me.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Then all of you shall die.”

The creature suddenly screeched and then hurled itself through the air towards Newt. As swift as it was someone within the room was much faster and Newt only saw a blur as he was pushed aside. He fell backwards and regained his senses only quickly enough to see Feng Qin and the creature grappling on the floor near him. Several Aurors hurried into the room just as Newt seized the mirror and pointed it at the creature who was even then gaining the upper hand on the ancient wizard.

Screeching triumphantly, the beast was preparing to strike a killing blow when it was suddenly drawn into the mirror. Newt was breathing hard when he realized the truth of what had happened.

Feng Qin slowly rose to his feet revealing the terrible claw marks on his face and body. He staggered towards the wall and then collapsed once again. Newton Scamander could only stare at his friend while the name of his master escaped his lips and he hurried to take the older man into his arms while he understood what it all meant.

The Scathlings intended to exact revenge and his friend was going to be one of the first to pay the price.


	11. Darby's Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The answer to the problem draws nearer, but will it be the answer that everyone wants?

Newt sat silently beside the bed of his stricken friend while he waited for the inevitable. The ancient man in the bed was covered with cuts and scrapes courtesy of the claws of the Scathling that had attempted to attack. The wizard realized that he might very well be the one in the bed but the attack that had been meant for him had been diverted when the Chinese elder had thrown himself between the pair. As a result, Newt had been spared injury of a physical sort but he rather wished that he had not. The emotional pain that he was feeling about the impending loss of a long-time friend was enormous and he wondered if he was strong enough to bear it when the time to say good-bye came.

Feng Qin moaned as the poison from the wounds coursed through his body and he relived pain that he had experienced long before. Then he had been a much younger man and the battle much easier to wage, but time was no longer on his side and he was barely able to wonder if he could prevail once more.

The younger wizard looked up as the healer walked back into the room to give the ancient man another dose of the only potion that seemed to have an effect on the toxin. His patient grimaced and the healer had to wonder if it was because of pain or the taste of the potion. Although he had never personally tasted the mixture he understood that it was rather vile.

The still form on the bed shuddered and then breathed extremely deeply in what seemed to be the beginning of the end of his life. He stiffened and then began to convulse violently enough that several healers were needed to hold him down to prevent him from falling to the floor. A loud shriek escaped his lips, his eyes flew open wide and then he collapsed back onto the bed to lie silently. The healer looked down at the ancient man and then shook his head as he looked up into the eyes of Newt Scamander before speaking.

“I am so sorry, Mister Scamander, your friend has departed from this life.”

Newt looked down mournfully at the now silent body that occupied the bed. He felt the warm wetness as tears began to make their trip down his cheeks. Memories of long debates and friendly arguments with his friend filled his mind as he looked at the now peaceful face of his companion. He was saddened beyond belief but at the same time puzzled.

Always before, when a victim died, the body had immediately undergone a terrible deterioration until only liquefied remnants were left. But the body of his friend looked much as it had in life with no sign of deterioration. Clearly something had happened differently this time and he wondered what it was and if it could be of some use to them. Perhaps Feng Qin could help them yet if they could determine what was different this time. He spoke silently to the still body on the bed before speaking.

“I shall miss our friendly debates, Master Qin. My life shall be much poorer without your presence. May you rest peacefully, my old friend.”

He turned his attention to the healer who still stood beside the bed.

“His body needs to be examined thoroughly. If he did not go through the immediate decomposition then we need to know why. It may be that his loss is the key to the survival of this city and our world.”

Seraphina Picquery watched silently as the wizard turned from his friend’s body and then walked out of the room. The loss of the Chinese wizard was a severe blow to their efforts and she wondered if they could yet prevail against the threat that the Scathlings represented. A greater worry filled her mind, however, because she wondered if Newt Scamander would be able to help as much as they had hoped that he could. The mind of the wizard would be clouded with grief and she doubted very much if he would be able to totally concentrate on the tasks at hand. She turned and left the room as outside their plan for temporary salvation went into effect.

The non-magical residents of the area would be startled by the sudden abrupt excessive brightness of the streetlights outside their windows. The municipal office that maintained the lights would be inundated by a flood of calls from irritated citizens who wanted nothing more than to sleep, a task made nearly impossible by the light outside. But they were not to be the only ones affected by the light.

The first of the Scathlings to emerge into the light blinked with confusion. Normally it would be dark enough for them to move about with impunity, but this was quite different. It stepped out onto the street and made the unfortunate mistake of stepping in front of what should have been a very safe window. Instead of being safe it found itself being dragged inexorably toward the reflective surface of the glass and imprisonment. It had no sooner vanished when the next victim of the plan was captured. Many more of the creatures would be snared before they realized that all was not well on the streets and that they could not carry out the planned attack.

Newt returned to his office to stand and stare out into the unnaturally bright streets. Here and there he would see a stealthy figure emerge into the light only be dragged into the surface of one of the windows that lined the streets. Only in the dark alleys and parks of the city was it safe for the creatures to emerge and they would find precious few victims to attack there. The vagabonds that normally called those areas home had forsaken them for other locations where the patrolling police would not find them. The few shelters in the city would find themselves overwhelmed by a surge in habitation.

Below ground the creatures were nearly mad with fury as they had intended an insurmountable attack that would have fed their undeveloped eggs for weeks. Now those eggs were in danger of starving and that was an outcome that they feared. Without the new Scathlings to bolster their ranks the cause would be lost and there would be no rule of the world for them to enjoy. They would have to continue to live within the shadow of those that they opposed.

The ersatz throne room of the Scathlings was filled with an almost intolerable noise as the inner circle of the leader’s entourage screamed and screeched their frustration while the immense leader brooded silently. Although it had never seen the homeland of its kind it had a memory of the dense jungles that had once been theirs to command. Now their once vast kingdom was vacant, the passageways of the warrens devoid of their kind, and slowly succumbing to the forces of nature as they were reclaimed by the flora.

None of them truly wanted to be here, they would much rather still be in the jungles that their species had called home for untold generations, but one of the ones that were called No-Maj had gathered a large number of their eggs after stumbling onto one of their nests and had sent them here to this land on one of their ships. Since then, many more eggs had found their way to these shores and their numbers had grown. Now a new generation was preparing to hatch from eggs that had been produced here and these new beings would have much poorer memories of the land where their kind had been spawned.

How far they had fallen, for at one time their kind had been a noble race which controlled a vast domain. They had lived in harmony with all others around them and had occupied a seat on the council that decided the conflicts of the world. Now that council was much diminished and far less powerful, many of the species which had once held seats now only fading memories, as no members of those species still lived.

Even the child race that now threatened them had once held a seat on the council but had been expelled and even threatened with destruction. But the threats of the council had been swayed by one of the oldest and wisest of the council members. It would eventually come to pass however that even the wisest would fall to the folly of others and another noble race would cease to exist. Memories of those lost overcame the creature and it suddenly tilted its head back to release a bellow that seemed to shake the chamber. The smaller beings around it scattered in fright save one that, being less wise, slowly approached its leader.

The larger creature suddenly lashed out, seizing the smaller beast in a vise like grip from which there was no escape. The smaller creature struggled violently while others watched and the struggle ended only when the leader raised its follower to its maw, hurled the squealing captive into its mouth and then swallowed it whole.  
The once noisy room fell silent as the reality of their fate should they anger their leader registered with the gathered beasts. They were at a standstill, the beings above ground had found a way to make the darkness bright once again and that made the streets above dangerous. Far too many surfaces above were reflective and could trap them, obviously there had to be another way to deal with those above.

While the Scathlings pondered their problem, Newt examined his. It was painfully apparent that they could not keep the city lit forever and, once the lights went out that the creatures would swarm out to take their revenge on the citizens of New York. Somehow they needed a reflective surface that would cover the entrances to the sewers but still be passable to the No-Maj that serviced them. It would have to be such that the No-Maj could pass through it without noticing it but also be protected once they were underground.

He knew about mercury, it was highly reflective but also quite heavy and quite unusable for their purposes. But it gave him an idea.

If they could cast a charm which would blanket the area underground and slowly force the Scathlings into an area from which they could not escape they could be herded into a reflective trap. It would be a small task then to return them to the place from which they had come so that all could live in harmony.

He glanced once more at the egg shells that had been recovered and his mind drifted back to his examination of them earlier in the day. Somehow, even though he could not read the writing on them, he knew that they held the key to their dilemma. He wondered if it might not be an answer to the question about how to contain the Scathlings and then safely return them to their homeland. He had no desire to see further deaths on either side and feared the outcome should all-out war begin.  
The No-Maj president could only be held back for so long and, sooner or later, would order the military of his government to strike at this unknown menace. When that happened, many on both sides would die and the city would be left in ruins, rendered uninhabitable for many years if at all.

He was nearly ready to surrender defeat when an inspiration came to him, reflection! The Scathlings feared it and their shells held the answer, perhaps he had been reading everything wrong. What if the shells could only be read in a reflection? He hurried back to the table, but not before gathering one of the shards of broken mirror from the floor. The shell fragment that he had been examining before lay on the table where it had come to rest and he drew his wand to cast the simple spell once more.

_“Wingardium Leviosa!”_

The fragment slowly rose into the air and he held the piece of shattered mirror underneath it. He some of the language that was suddenly revealed and was startled to see that it was not Chinese at all, but rather ancient Elven. There was a very old elf working in one of the offices in the building that he occupied and he hurried out of the room to find the venerable being.

The search did not take long and he was soon fairly dragging the elf back into his office, much to the chagrin of the official who had enlisted the aid of the elf. Papers scattered on the floor trailed the pair as they made their way into the office and they were soon standing before the table and the floating egg shell.

“Can you read what is revealed when you hold the piece of mirror under the eggshell?”

The old elf gingerly picked up the fragment of glass and then held it under the floating eggshell section. His ancient eyes widened as he read and then he turned to the anxious wizard who stood next to him.

“Yes, I can read this very well but it is not complete. I shall need some time to read it all.”

“Thank Merlin! I need you to concentrate on this and only on this. Forget whatever task you have been assigned before because this is of utmost importance!”

“Darby shall do as commanded.”

“Not commanded, Darby, just urgently requested. The lives of many depend on what that eggshell has written on it.”

Newt watched with rapt fascination as the other fragments of the egg slowly rose into the air to reassemble. The ancient elf concentrated on what he was seeing, at times gasping, as the full meaning of the inscription became apparent. The egg slowly rotated in the air as Darby read further and his mood seemed to brighten as he began to read a new area of the ancient runes. He nodded with understanding and finally turned back to the wizard, who scarcely realized that over an hour had passed since the elf had begun his task.

“Master Scamander, I shall require much more time to complete this task. It appears that there is a way to return these beings to their homeland but I shall have to study this shell for a while. The writing is of an obscure type even for our language and it shall be a long night for Darby.”

“Do you require anything further to complete the task?”

The wizened elf turned to regard Newt for a moment before offering a weak smile and then answering.

“Only time, Master Scamander, Darby requires only time.”

“Then it is time that you shall have and please, Darby, call me Newt. I much prefer it to Master Scamander and I have too much respect for your kind to demand that title.”

The ancient elf smiled broadly and then returned to his task with an energy that normally was only seen within a much younger elf. Never before had Darby been given such respect by a wizard and it inspired him to double his efforts although he wavered not at all in his diligence to complete it properly. He understood what was at stake and wanted no part in allowing one, if not two, species to end.

Newt retreated to a desk that stood in one corner of the room to think about what all of this had cost him. The time away from his studies of magical creatures was trivial. What truly hurt him was the loss of his long-time friend. He thought back to the kind hearted debates that many times had gone on for hours about one subject or another, but always in jest.

Master Qin had never let him forget about his misadventures many years ago when he had visited China to study some of the creatures there. A slight mishap had occurred which had resulted in damage to several Chinese antiquities. As a result, he had been asked to leave that province until the wizard who oversaw the area calmed down enough to permit him to reenter. Obviously, the man had yet to calm down because an invitation back had not yet arrived.

He thought too about the copy of the book that he had promised to hand deliver to Porpentina Goldstein. It still lay in his case courtesy, not of the lack of opportunities to give it to the witch because he had had plenty of chances, but his own timidity when speaking to members of the opposite gender. He intended to give it to her; he was just waiting for the right time, once he had gathered the courage to speak to her again. It was strange that he could find the courage to face down some of the creatures that he studied but be brave enough to talk to the witch, despite the fact that she still showed romantic interest in him.

While he thought and his mind replayed the past, Darby was making progress. There was a way to end this struggle and do it without further loss of life on either side. The problem was that it required a certain set of conditions and he wondered if the city could survive long enough to see it through. He finally rose and walked towards the wizard, who had drifted off to sleep.

“Newt! I have solved the riddle of the eggshell! There is a way to solve this dilemma and save lives.”

Newt could hear the elf and struggled to weave his way out of the dream that he was having and he hoped that he could do so soon, because it wasn’t a good one. In it the Scathlings had won and were corralling both No-Maj and magical citizens of the city to a place where they could be dealt with. The dealing with meant being absorbed magically in order that the energy from the being could be fed to the as yet unhatched eggs of the Scathlings as well as the adult creatures themselves.

In his dream he watched as the city was emptied of all adult human life and the children were left to fend for themselves after being gathered and sent to camps to mature and become useful. It had done no good to attempt to escape for a barrier had risen to prevent flight. The adults, both magical and non-magical, were herded into large caverns that had appeared where they moved in single file towards large glowing orbs. As they reached an orb each person began to dissolve until only any metal objects that they had had upon them fell to the ground where they had been. Elves, who were obviously slaves, were tasked with gathering these objects and disposing of them, all under the watchful eyes of their Scathling masters.

It was quite obvious that a person who had been absorbed was magical as the orb would glow incredibly bright for a moment until the energy was distributed to its various destinations and the Scathlings were quite obviously growing stronger as it did. There was no doubt that the Scathlings were becoming able to utilize the abilities of each magical person absorbed and thus becoming far more formidable than they had been.

He found himself walking towards one of the orbs and could see his skin and flesh becoming transparent. His bones were quite visible soon as were his veins and arteries as they transported liquid life to the organs that he could also see. Suddenly, his flesh was gone and only the bones remained, yet he could still see his remains, as though he were floating above the scene. Finally even that vanished from his view although his vision lasted long enough to watch as Porpentina also vanished into one of the orbs. Then he could see nothing as his energy began its trip to its destination.

This didn’t last long as he found his essence and energy emerging into a large chamber dominated by millions of green eggs that pulsated as they absorbed energy. He felt himself being divided among many eggs as his energy was consumed and finally felt nothing at all. He had been utterly consumed and defeated and he knew that the Scathlings would not stop with New York, but would spread to dominate the continents one at a time until they ruled the world.

He finally managed to escape the dream and open his eyes to find a very concerned Darby looking at him.

“Is Newt all right? Darby was most concerned about him when he did not respond!”

“Yes, yes, I am quite all right. Did you find something that will help us, Darby?”

“Yes, Darby has found the answer to our problem. But the solution may be rather difficult to achieve.”

“What is the answer, Darby?”

“Newt is not going to like it.”


	12. A Difficult Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt receives the answer that Darby has uncovered. But will he like what it means to him?

“Darby, what do you mean when you say that I will not like it?”

The ancient elf looked up at Newt with such sad eyes that the wizard knew immediately that the solution to the conflict with the Scathlings was not going to be a pleasant one.

“It was not until after Darby read the script on the egg shells that he realized the truth about the Scathlings. They are not foreign creatures at all, Newt; they are members of Darby’s own race. The Scathlings are a form of elf that colonized China eons ago because they could not bear to live as most elves are willing to do. It was because of this distance that they forgot much about our race and learned things of their own that we do not understand. They became content to move into the jungles of China and established their own civilization far away from the contact with the race of men which they abhorred.”

“But the absorption of people for their energy, the race of elves has never done that.”

“Actually, Newt, elves once did just that but there was an awakening which brought the race of the elves to the point that it is today. We have wise elders that guide us in the direction that we desire and a rich history of peace and enlightenment. Our race has grown from the child race that it was to the mature race that it is. The Scathlings look down upon the race of man because men kill for no reason other than to possess what another has. Man had a seat on the council of life, but they turned away from that wisdom and began to destroy other races without thought.”

“But you said that I would not like the solution…”

“Newt, how long have you known Master Qin?”

“Several years, why do you ask?”

“Master Qin was not what you thought that he was.”

“What do you mean?”

“Newt,” Darby said gently, “Master Qin, although highly magical, was not a human wizard. He was something quite different from what you assumed. Newt, Master Qin was what you call a Scathling. He was not an ordinary one, but rather an elder of exceptional age. Master Qin was one of the elves which left the race to journey to China. He had come to New York to bring the other Scathlings home, but the efforts of MACUSA and the desperation of the Scathlings to protect their eggs complicated his mission.”

“Master Qin was an Animagus?”

“Not in the sense that you know, as one of the ancients he possessed the gift of being able to appear as a member of another race so that he could move among them without causing alarm.”

“If I accept your explanation that he was not human, then what will I not like about it?”

“If you wish to bring peace to this city and your world, he must be returned to them.”

“They want his body?”

“No, Newt, they want him. Master Qin is not dead; the venom of a Scathling is ineffective against another Scathling. He is merely in a state of hibernation and will awaken soon. Your healer shall be quite surprised when he does and we need to be in the room at that time, with the mirror that you used to capture the Scathling that attacked you. The Scathlings must be freed and will recognize him immediately, they will disapparate to return to their leader to inform him that an elder has arrived to end the conflict and will obey his instructions to stop the attacks against the residents of this city, both magical and No-Maj.”

“What shall they want to do then?”

“They shall ask for transportation back to China for themselves and their unhatched eggs.”

Newt turned to look at the place where Qin had been attacked. It all made sense now, the master had appeared mysteriously to end the problem without being notified and had repeatedly suggested solutions that were non-lethal to the beasts. Then he had managed to “live” for a longer period than normal after being attacked and his body had not undergone the strange and horrible deterioration that other victims had. Added to that was his immense knowledge of what they faced. Now everything made sense and he realized what the elf was saying.

Feng Qin had been a guardian who had been watching the creatures while they were in China and had come to America to prevent a catastrophe. While Qin was not dead, Newt knew that he was going to have to say good-bye to a friend forever.

The pair left the room where they were, after Newt had retrieved the mirror, and made their way to the place where Qin had “died”. When they arrived they found the room in a near uproar and Feng Qin sitting up on the bed with a broad smile on his face. Newt rushed forward to take the older man into a hug and then stepped back to regard him.

“Is it true, Qin?”

_‘Yes, my friend Newt, it is true. I have held a secret from you for many years, but now that secret must be revealed. You have been told by Darby about my true nature?’_

“Yes.”

_‘Then you know what must happen?’_

“You are going to leave with them.”

_‘To protect the race that I guard and the race that you belong to, I must.’_

“Will I see you again?”

_‘You should not return to China yet, the official that you offended has a long memory and would likely throw you into a rather unpleasant Chinese prison.’_

Newt nodded silently and it was then that he remembered the mirror that he held. He held it out, facing him, to Master Qin. The effect was instant as Qin vanished and a large Scathling in fine robes that Newt recognized as Qin’s appeared.

_‘Newt, please shatter the mirror and release the captives.’_

The next sound was the breaking of glass as the mirror was shattered. Instantly, snarling Scathlings appeared to face the witches, wizards and elves in the room. The snarls died as the creatures recognized the elder that was in the room and they immediately bowed to him before slowly fading from view.

_‘They have gone to inform their leader of my presence. The attacks shall end.’_

“Then all the things that you told us about the Scathlings…”

_‘Were fabrications to protect those that I have come for, Newt. They are actually quite harmless unless thrown into a situation like the one that they found themselves in. When their eggs were stolen and brought here they fought back the only way that they could. I regret the loss of the lives that they took in order to ensure that their eggs survived.’_

A moment later, a large Scathling appeared in the room to gaze in amazement at the creature that it had come to see. A low squealing noise issued from its mouth and was answered by the thing that had been Feng Qin. Then the creature vanished and the group was alone once again.

“What about the creatures that were trapped in the window glass and mirrors?”

_‘I have been busy freeing them for many days and confining them to the shadows of the sewer system. Even the youngest of their race recognizes me and will obey my edict. They shall not attack again.’_

“Then this is good-bye?”

_‘For now, Newton Scamander, I promise that you shall not be further troubled by my people.’_

“I do have one final question, well maybe two, why did you wait for so long to reveal your true nature?”

_‘I had to wait as I was trapped in the form that I assumed many centuries ago. Time faded my memory of how to leave the form that you met me in, that and it was also very comfortable as a human. It was only after I allowed myself to be attacked that I was able to free myself of that form which you knew. What is your second question?’_

“Is Feng Qin your true name?”

A brief thing that might have been a smile crossed the lips of the creature before him, a creature that was becoming less distinct.

_'No, Newton, it is not, but it shall suffice should we meet again. You could not pronounce it even if I explained it to you ten thousand times. We shall leave your city and land in peace, Newt Scamander, as I understand that a ship bound for China has been located and we can be secreted within it. Our eggs shall be safe for the journey and we shall be back where we belong.'_

“What about the green balls that were vanishing all over the city?”

A mysterious smile crossed the lips of the creature as it vanished and Newt was left with a mystery that would not stay mysterious for long. A work crew preparing an old building for demolition would tear down a wall to expose thousands of balls that tumbled out of the opening to flow into the room that the men occupied before rolling down the stairs and into the busy street outside, much to the pleasure of children and the amazement of adults.

The next day the headlines of the papers held an interesting story about the recovery of the objects with the incident being blamed upon hoodlums that merely wanted to create a minor difficulty for the affected merchants.

Newt stood at the door of the office that he had occupied as he examined the Scathling egg fragments that lay in a clear box. He placed the box carefully in his bag and then into his suitcase as he prepared to leave the city behind once again.

Darby stood next to the human wizard as Newt made his preparations and was surprised when the wizard looked down at him with a question.

“Darby, I have received permission from President Picquery to take you with me. They have agreed to release you from service here at MACUSA so that you can make the trip with me back to England. Would you go with me?”

“Newt wants Darby as his servant?”

“No, Darby,” Newt Scamander said as he knelt to look into the eyes of the elf. “I want you to go with me as my assistant, my equal. Will you agree to this?”

Tears filled the ancient eyes of the elf and he nodded furiously before grasping the hand that had been offered to him.

“Yes, Newt, Darby would be more than happy to accompany you to England and be your assistant.”

“Then, by all means, please enter my case, you shall find a place prepared for you that I believe that you shall find more than comfortable.”

As he watched his new found friend enter the case and the lid closed behind the elf, Newt stole a glance at the room again as President Picquery entered the room.

“Thank you again, Mister Scamander, once again you have saved this city, but this time at a cost.”

“Feng Qin saved the city, Madame President, and I have not experienced a loss, merely a separation.”

“Very well, I assume that you have a schedule to keep and I do not want to keep you from it.”

“Once again, President Picquery, it has been a pleasure.”

He shook the offered hand before turning to walk out of the building and then to a deserted alley where he vanished with a POP to appear in an equally quiet location near the very place where he had entered the city. Glancing back at the city, where so much had changed, he turned back to the building where he would board the ship that would take him home.

It would not be until a day later that he realized that he had forgotten that the book that he had promised to Porpentina Goldstein still lay in his case. As he sat on the bed in his compartment he could only say the one thing that came to his mind.

“Merlin’s Beard!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This brings the story to a close. I want to thank J.K. Rowling for the inspiration that she provided with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them. I also wish to thank AO3 for the wonderful place that they have provided in which to display this story. I wish as well to express my gratitude to the readers who have taken time from their lives to read my works. Thank you!
> 
> Evil Otter


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